Low-temperature metalorganic chemical vapor deposition of molybdenum disulfide on multicomponent glass substrates

Industrially relevant substrates, such as amorphous oxides and metallic substrates, typically cannot withstand the elevated temperatures (>800 °C) required for metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), thus limiting the applicability of these substrates for the realization of electronic-grade 2D materials. This work demonstrates MOCVD of crystalline MoS₂ on multicomponent glass at temperatures ranging from 400 to 600 °C. Incorporated to understand the effects of ions in the glass on 2D layer growth, nitrogen plasma treatment of the glass surface enables increased domain size and minimized the effects of low temperature on electronic characteristics. Trends of growth morphology, crystalline quality, and film stoichiometry are examined as a function of glass chemistry, growth temperature, and degree of surface treatment. It is found that glass surface chemistry and growth temperature are the dominant factors in controlling domain size, which is improved with increasing plasma treatment, introducing alkali-containing glass, and growth temperature. While crystalline quality is improved with higher temperature, the films no longer remain stoichiometric. Finally, we demonstrate that glass surface chemistry has important impacts on electronic transport properties.