The Physical and Chemical Properties of MoS2(1-x)Te2x Alloy Synthesized by Co-sputtering and Chalcogenization and Their Dependence on Fabrication Conditions

MoS2(1-x)Te2x, the alloy of MoS2 and MoTe2 was fabricated with just co-sputtering and the combination of co-sputtering with following thermal treatment in chalcogen ambient. Phase separation, where MoTe2 was segregated rather than S and Te being uniformly distributed, was observed for some samples. From the physical structure evaluation using XRD, it was shown that the samples that was sulfurized after unintentional oxidation during shelf time exhibited no phase separation. It was suggested that oxidation of Mo or amorphous nature of the film at the chalcogenization stage may prevent the phase separation. In addition, some samples were stored in desiccator for stability evaluation. It was revealed that the samples undergo oxidation to different extent depending on the carrier gas used in tellurization. Finally, the bandgap and band structure was evaluated for samples with different Te concentration. The bandgap showed bowing behavior for different Te concentration with the bowing parameter b = -1.21 eV. Combined with the bandgap evaluation, the valence analysis with XPS showed that the band structure shifted according to the Te concentration. The shift in bandgap allows flexible band alignment which is expected to expand the materials applicability.