Growth of Monolayer MoS2 Flakes via Close Proximity Re-Evaporation

We report a two-step growth process of MoS2 nanoflakes using a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition technique. In the first step, a MoS2 layer was synthesized on a c-plane sapphire substrate. This layer was subsequently re-evaporated at a higher temperature to form mono- or few-layer MoS2 flakes. As a result, the close proximity re-evaporation enabled the growth of pristine MoS2 nanoflakes. Atomic force microscopy analysis confirmed the synthesis of nanoclusters/nanoflakes with lateral dimensions of over 10 mu m and a flake height of approximately 1.3 nm, demonstrating bi-layer MoS2, whereas transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed triangular MoS2 nanoflakes, with a diffraction pattern proving the presence of single crystalline hexagonal MoS2. Raman data revealed the typical modes of high-quality MoS2 nanoflakes. Finally, we presented the photocurrent dependence of a MoS2-based photoresist under illumination with light-emitting diode of 405 nm wavelength. The measured current-voltage dependence across various luminous flux outlined the sensitivity of MoS2 to polarized light and thus opens further opportunities for applications in high-performance photodetectors with polarization sensitivity.