Issue 10, 2017

p-Type transition-metal doping of large-area MoS2 thin films grown by chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (e.g. MoS2) have recently emerged as a promising material system for electronic and optoelectronic applications. A major challenge for these materials, however, is to realize bipolar electrical transport properties (i.e. both p-type and n-type conduction), which is critical for enhancing device performance and functionalities. Here, we demonstrate the transition metal zinc as a p-type dopant in the otherwise n-type MoS2, through systematic characterizations of large area Zn-doped MoS2 thin films grown by a one-step chemical vapor deposition (CVD) approach. Raman characterization and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies identified millimeter-scale, monolayer films with 1–2% Zn as dopants. Zinc doping suppresses n-type conductivity in MoS2 and shifts its Fermi level downwards. The stability and p-type nature of Zn dopants were further confirmed by density-functional-theory calculations of formation energies and electronic band structures. The electrical transport properties of Zn-MoS2 films can be influenced by stoichiometry, and p-type gate transfer characteristics were realized by thermal treatment under a sulfur atmosphere. Our work highlights transition-metal doping followed by sulfur vacancy elimination in CVD grown films as a promising route for achieving large area p-type transition metal dichalcogenide films that are essential for practical applications in electronics and optoelectronics.

Graphical abstract: p-Type transition-metal doping of large-area MoS2 thin films grown by chemical vapor deposition

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 Dec 2016
Accepted
12 Feb 2017
First published
13 Feb 2017

Nanoscale, 2017,9, 3576-3584

p-Type transition-metal doping of large-area MoS2 thin films grown by chemical vapor deposition

E. Z. Xu, H. M. Liu, K. Park, Z. Li, Y. Losovyj, M. Starr, M. Werbianskyj, H. A. Fertig and S. X. Zhang, Nanoscale, 2017, 9, 3576 DOI: 10.1039/C6NR09495C

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