Three-dimensional quantum size effects on the growth of Au islands on MoS2

Quantum confinement was found to play a critical role in the formation of Au(111) islands grown on the surface of MoS2. These confinement effects are fully three dimensional, with a strong correlation with the relatively large Fermi wavelength associated with the Au(111) planes. The confinement effects result in preferred heights with a periodicity of nearly 2 nm and persist to much higher temperatures than are typically seen in electronic growth mode systems. These findings indicate the potential to explore electronic growth modes in systems based on metal-layered semiconductor interfaces.