TMDC Challenges Graphene’s Exclusive Role

With very low electrical resistance, high thermal conductivity and is mechanically stretchable and is harder than diamond, graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms in a honeycomb lattice, is increasingly being used in new electronic and mechanical applications, such as transistors, switches and light sources.

Now researchers from the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at Southampton University have developed molybdenum di-sulphide (MoS2), a similar material to graphene that shares many of its properties, including extraordinary electronic conduction and mechanical strength, but made from a metal (in this case molybdenum combined with sulphur).

 This new class of thin metal/sulphide materials, known as transition metal di-chalcogenides (TMDCs), is an exciting complimentary material to graphene with one distinct difference; TMDCs can also emit light which will allow applications such as photodetectors and light emitting devices to be manufactured.

 Dr Kevin Huang, from ORC who has led the research, explains: “We have been working on the synthesis of chalcogenide materials using a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process since 2001 and our technology has now achieved the  fabrication of large area (>1000 mm2) ultra- thin films only a few atoms thick.  Being able to manufacture sheets of MoS2 and related materials, rather than just microscopic flakes, as previously was the case, greatly expands their promise for nanoelectronic and optoelectronic applications.” 

 They are currently working with several UK companies and universities, as well as leading international centres at MIT and Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). 

 Dr Huang adds: “Our ability to not only synthesise large uniform thin films but also to transfer these films to virtually any substrate has led to increased demand for our materials. We welcome enquiries from universities and industry who wish to collaborate with us.”

 The work was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Photonics.

 Full report: Reference‘Scalable High-mobility MoS2 Thin Films Fabricated by an Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition Process at Ambient Temperature’ by Chung-Che Huang, Feras Al-Saab, Yudong Wang, Jun-Yu Ou, John Walker, Shuncai Wang, Behrad Gholipour, Robert Simpson and Daniel Hewak. Nanoscale DOI: 10.1039/C4NR04228J