Growth parameter enhancement for MoS₂ thin films synthesized by pulsed laser deposition

Two-dimensional materials such as graphene and MoS₂ have been the main focus of intense research efforts over the past few years. The most common method of exfoliating these materials, although efficient for lab-scale experiments, is not acceptable for large area and practical applications. Here, we report the deposition of MoS₂ layered films on amorphous (SiO₂) and crystalline substrates (sapphire) using a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. Increased substrate temperature (∝700 C) and laser energy density (>530 mJ /cm²) promotes crystalline MoS₂ films < 20 nm, as demonstrated by fast Fourier transform (FFT) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The method reported here opens the possibility for large area layered MoS₂ films by using a laser ablation processes. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)