Effect of Sulfurization Temperature on RF Sputtered MoS2 Thin Film

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is one among the transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) family which exhibits exotic physical properties at their mono-layer limit. We report a facile way to fabricate stoichiometric, crystalline and star shaped MoS2 film. In this work, ultra-thin MoS2 films were fabricated by two step process (i) RF sputtering of MoS2 target followed by (ii) sulfurization to improve stoichiometry and crystallinity. In order to study the effect of sulfurization temperature on sputtered MoS2, sulfurization has been performed at five different temperatures - 700, 750, 775, 800 and 825°C. Surface morphology of as sputtered and sulfurized MoS2 films were characterized using optical and scanning electron microscopes. Crystallinity and layer thickness of the fabricated MoS2 films were estimated by using Laser Raman spectroscopy. These results confirm that as sputtered MoS2 films are discontinuous, amorphous in nature and it crystalizes into a layered structure during sulfurization