Polymorphism Control of Layered MoTe2 through Two-Dimensional Solid-Phase Crystallization

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 1 - 8
• Main Authors: Huang, Jyun-Hong, Hsu, Hao-Hua, Wang, Ding, Lin, Wei-Ting, Cheng, Chun-Cheng, Lee, Yao-Jen, Hou, Tuo-Hung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 19.06.2019; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 140/133; 140/146; 639/301/357/1018; 639/301/357/551; 639/925/357/1018; 639/925/357/551; Crystallization; Electrical properties; Humanities and Social Sciences; Molybdenum; multidisciplinary; Polymorphism; Science; Science (multidisciplinary)
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-45142-x

Two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe 2 ) exhibits an intriguing polymorphic nature, showing stable semiconducting 2H and metallic 1T′ phases at room temperature. Polymorphism in MoTe 2 presents new opportunities in developing phase-change memory, high- performance transistors, and spintronic devices. However, it also poses challenges in synthesizing homogeneous MoTe 2 with a precisely controlled phase. Recently, a new yet simple method using sputtering and 2D solid-phase crystallization (SPC) is proposed for synthesizing high-quality and large-area MoTe 2 . This study investigates the polymorphism control of MoTe 2 synthesis using 2D SPC. The Te/Mo ratio and oxygen content in the as-sputtered films correlate strongly with the final phase and electrical properties of SPC MoTe 2 . Furthermore, the SPC thermal budget may be exploited for stabilizing a deterministic phase. The comprehensive experiments presented in this work demonstrate the versatile and precise controllability on the MoTe 2 phase by using the simple 2D SPC technique.