Exploring MoS 2 Growth: A Comparative Study of Atmospheric and Low-Pressure CVD

• Published in: Langmuir 2024-12, Vol.40 (48), p.25648-25656
• Main Authors: Paidi, Hemanth Kumar, Mudunuri, Rishitha, Babu, Deepu J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0743-7463; 1520-5827
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c03567

Transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), in particular MoS , have garnered a lot of interest due to their unique properties and potential applications. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is generally used to synthesize 2D films of MoS . The synthesis of MoS is highly sensitive to growth parameters such as temperature, pressure, flow rate, precursor ratio, etc. Though there are several accounts of MoS synthesis via atmospheric-pressure CVD (APCVD) and low-pressure CVD (LPCVD), there is a lack of a comparative analysis between the two methods, which could potentially offer a better perspective on the growth of MoS . This work systematically investigates the growth of MoS under APCVD and LPCVD conditions. The APCVD growth of MoS is found to be diffusion-limited, leading to the characteristic triangular morphology, while the LPCVD growth is reaction-limited. The enhanced mass flux in LPCVD, even at much lower temperatures (Δ ≥ 200 °C), increases the nucleation density, resulting in a continuous polycrystalline film covering the entire substrate. This comparative study provides a better insight into understanding the crystallization and growth of MoS , which can also be extended to other TMDs.