Fast solid-phase synthesis of large-area few-layer 1T’-MoTe2 films

Publication date: 1 June 2017
Source:Journal of Crystal Growth, Volume 467
Author(s): Sheng Xie, Lin Chen, Tian-Bao Zhang, Xin-Ran Nie, Hao Zhu, Shi-Jin Ding, Qing-Qing Sun, David Wei Zhang
In this study, we report on a novel approach to produce ∼12nm thick few-layer monoclinic 1T’-MoTe2 films. The deposition method comprised sputtering of Mo, molecular beam epitaxy of Te, and rapid thermal processing to effect tellurization of the Mo into 1T’-MoTe2. The heating rate and annealing time are the critical factors. 30°Cs⁻¹ heating rate and 2min annealing at 470°C were adopted in this work. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the formation of stoichiometric 1T’-MoTe2 films, while X-ray diffraction confirmed the monoclinic polymorph. Raman spectroscopy confirmed spatial uniformity over the sample size of 1cm×1.5cm. Our fast synthesis approach to realize high-quality 1T’-MoTe2 paves the way towards the large-scale application of 1T’-MoTe2 in high-performance nanoelectronics and optoelectronics.