Atomic-layer soft plasma etching of MoS2

Transition from multi-layer to monolayer and sub-monolayer thickness leads to the many exotic properties and distinctive applications of two-dimensional (2D) MoS2. This transition requires atomic-layer-precision thinning of bulk MoS2 without damaging the remaining layers, which presently remains elu...

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Main Authors:	Xiao, Shaoqing, Xiao, Peng, Zhang, Xuecheng, Yan, Dawei, Gu, Xiaofeng, Qin, Fang, Ni, Zhenhua, Han, Zhao Jun, Ostrikov, Kostya (Ken)
Format:	Online
Language:	English
Published:	Nature Publishing Group 2016
Online Access:	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4728689/

id	pubmed-4728689
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	pubmed-47286892016-02-01 Atomic-layer soft plasma etching of MoS2 Xiao, Shaoqing Xiao, Peng Zhang, Xuecheng Yan, Dawei Gu, Xiaofeng Qin, Fang Ni, Zhenhua Han, Zhao Jun Ostrikov, Kostya (Ken) Article Transition from multi-layer to monolayer and sub-monolayer thickness leads to the many exotic properties and distinctive applications of two-dimensional (2D) MoS2. This transition requires atomic-layer-precision thinning of bulk MoS2 without damaging the remaining layers, which presently remains elusive. Here we report a soft, selective and high-throughput atomic-layer-precision etching of MoS2 in SF6 + N2 plasmas with low-energy (<0.4 eV) electrons and minimized ion-bombardment-related damage. Equal numbers of MoS2 layers are removed uniformly across domains with vastly different initial thickness, without affecting the underlying SiO2 substrate and the remaining MoS2 layers. The etching rates can be tuned to achieve complete MoS2 removal and any desired number of MoS2 layers including monolayer. Layer-dependent vibrational and photoluminescence spectra of the etched MoS2 are also demonstrated. This soft plasma etching technique is versatile, scalable, compatible with the semiconductor manufacturing processes, and may be applicable for a broader range of 2D materials and intended device applications. Nature Publishing Group 2016-01-27 /pmc/articles/PMC4728689/ /pubmed/26813335 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep19945 Text en Copyright © 2016, Macmillan Publishers Limited http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
repository_type	Open Access Journal
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	US National Center for Biotechnology Information
building	NCBI PubMed
collection	Online Access
language	English
format	Online
author	Xiao, Shaoqing Xiao, Peng Zhang, Xuecheng Yan, Dawei Gu, Xiaofeng Qin, Fang Ni, Zhenhua Han, Zhao Jun Ostrikov, Kostya (Ken)
spellingShingle	Xiao, Shaoqing Xiao, Peng Zhang, Xuecheng Yan, Dawei Gu, Xiaofeng Qin, Fang Ni, Zhenhua Han, Zhao Jun Ostrikov, Kostya (Ken) Atomic-layer soft plasma etching of MoS2
author_facet	Xiao, Shaoqing Xiao, Peng Zhang, Xuecheng Yan, Dawei Gu, Xiaofeng Qin, Fang Ni, Zhenhua Han, Zhao Jun Ostrikov, Kostya (Ken)
author_sort	Xiao, Shaoqing
title	Atomic-layer soft plasma etching of MoS2
title_short	Atomic-layer soft plasma etching of MoS2
title_full	Atomic-layer soft plasma etching of MoS2
title_fullStr	Atomic-layer soft plasma etching of MoS2
title_full_unstemmed	Atomic-layer soft plasma etching of MoS2
title_sort	atomic-layer soft plasma etching of mos2
description	Transition from multi-layer to monolayer and sub-monolayer thickness leads to the many exotic properties and distinctive applications of two-dimensional (2D) MoS2. This transition requires atomic-layer-precision thinning of bulk MoS2 without damaging the remaining layers, which presently remains elusive. Here we report a soft, selective and high-throughput atomic-layer-precision etching of MoS2 in SF6 + N2 plasmas with low-energy (<0.4 eV) electrons and minimized ion-bombardment-related damage. Equal numbers of MoS2 layers are removed uniformly across domains with vastly different initial thickness, without affecting the underlying SiO2 substrate and the remaining MoS2 layers. The etching rates can be tuned to achieve complete MoS2 removal and any desired number of MoS2 layers including monolayer. Layer-dependent vibrational and photoluminescence spectra of the etched MoS2 are also demonstrated. This soft plasma etching technique is versatile, scalable, compatible with the semiconductor manufacturing processes, and may be applicable for a broader range of 2D materials and intended device applications.
publisher	Nature Publishing Group
publishDate	2016
url	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4728689/
_version_	1613529133252345856

Atomic-layer soft plasma etching of MoS2

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