Effect of processing parameters on microstructure of MoS2 ultra-thin films synthesized by chemical vapor deposition method

MoS2 ultra-thin layers are synthesized using a chemical vapor deposition method based on the sulfurization of molybdenum trioxide (MoO3). The ultra-thin layers are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and atomic force microscope (AFM). Based on our experimental results, all the processing parameters, such as the tilt angle of substrate, applied voltage, heating time and the weight of source materials have effect on the microstructures of the layers. In this paper, the effects of such processing parameters on the crystal structures and morphologies of the as-grown layers are studied. It is found that the film obtained with the tilt angle of 0.06° is more uniform. A larger applied voltage is preferred to the growth of MoS2 thin films at a certain heating time. In order to obtain the ultra-thin layers of MoS2, the weight of 0.003 g of source materials is preferred. Under our optimal experimental conditions, the surface of the film is smooth and composed of many uniformly distributed and aggregated particles, and the ultra-thin MoS2 atomic layers (1∼10 layers) covers an area of more than 2 mm×2 mm.