Ultrafast and lowerature synthesis of patternable MoS ₂ using laser irradiation

The fascinating properties of transition metal dichalcogenides have been studied for a decade to broaden their promising applications as flexible electronics. However, conventional mass production of 2D materials is carried out at relatively high temperatures over 600 °C, which typical flexible substrates cannot withstand. For this reason, proper lowerature synthesis methods must be developed. Here, we propose a fast and lowerature synthesis method for metallic MoS ₂ , which can be achieved on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. A precursor solution was prepared by a mixture of (NH ₄ ) ₂ MoS ₄ powder and dimethylformamide. This solution was then coated on the silicon or PET substrate and an MoS ₂ film can be fabricated in unconstrained patterns such as lines or a continuous film at micro scale. The necessary laser power and exposure time were confirmed from systematic Raman spectroscopy measurements. The metallic behavior of the synthesized film was demonstrated by the electrical device fabrication and these excellent metallic properties show the feasibility of using MoS ₂ as a patternable electrode material on flexible substrates.