Tailoring MoS2 domains size, doping, and light emission by the sulfurization temperature of ultra-thin MoOx films on sapphire

Thermal sulfurization of ultra-thin Mo-based films represents a promising approach for large-area growth of MoS2. In this paper, we demonstrated that the crystalline quality (domains size and defects density), strain, doping, and light emission properties of monolayer (1L) MoS2 obtained from sputter deposited MoOx films on a c-sapphire substrate can be tailored by the sulfurization temperature (Ts) in the range from 700 to 800 °C. Starting from a continuous film with a nanocrystalline domains structure at Ts = 700 °C, a distribution of 1L MoS2 triangular domains with 2.1 ± 0.6 and 2.6 ± 1.6 μm average sizes was obtained by increasing Ts to 750 and 800 °C, respectively. The increase in Ts was accompanied by a strong (25×) enhancement of the photoluminescence (PL) intensity. Furthermore, the average doping of MoS2, evaluated from Raman analyses, evolved from a strong p-type doping (∼1 × 1013 cm−2) after Ts = 700 °C, ascribed to residual MoO3 in the film, to a low average n-type doping (∼0.04 × 1013 cm−2) after Ts = 800 °C. The wide tunability of doping and PL of 1L MoS2 by the sulfurization temperature can be exploited to tailor material properties for different specific applications.