Effect of Deposition Pressure on the Microstructure and Optical Band Gap of Molybdenum Disulfide Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering

MoS2 films were prepared via magnetron sputtering under different deposition pressures, and the effects of deposition pressure on the crystal structure, surface morphology, and optical properties of the resulting films were investigated. The results show that the crystallinity of the films first increases and then decreases with increasing pressure. The surface of the films prepared by magnetron sputtering is dense and uniform with few defects. The deposition pressure affects the grain size, surface morphology, and optical band gap of the films. The films deposited at a deposition pressure of 1 Pa revealed remarkable crystallinity, a 30.35 nm grain size, and a 1.67 eV optical band gap. Given the large electronegativity difference between MoS2 molecules and weak van der Waals forces between layers, the MoS2 films are prone to defects at different deposition pressures, causing the exciton energy near defects to decrease and the modulation of the surrounding band.