Structural Evolution of Molybdenum Disulfide Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition for Realization of Large Scale Films in Microelectronic Applications

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) films are attractive materials for electronic and optoelectronic devices, but the temperatures used in the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of these materials are too high for device integration. Recently, a low-temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD) process was demonstrated for growth of MoS2 films at 200 °C using MoF6 and H2S. However, the as-deposited films were amorphous and required annealing to obtain the desired layered structure. The MoS2 films were sulfur-deficient; however, after annealing the crystallinity improved. To study the structure of these films and the process by which they crystallize, we performed X-ray absorption spectroscopy and high-energy X-ray scattering experiments on both as-deposited and annealed MoS2 films. Analysis indicated that molybdenum atoms in the as-deposited films were well coordinated with sulfur but not well coordinated with other molybdenum atoms when compared to a crystalline reference. Further analysis revealed clusters of the sulf...