Large-Scale Conformal Growth of Atomic-Thick MoS2 for Highly Efficient Photocurrent Generation

Controlling the interconnection of neighboring seeds (nanoflakes) to full coverage of the textured substrate is the main challenge for the large-scale conformal growth of atomic-thick transition metal dichalcogenides by chemical vapor deposition. Herein, we report on a controllable method for the conformal growth of monolayer MoS2 on not only planar but also micro- and nano-rugged SiO2/Si substrates via metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The continuity of monolayer MoS2 on the rugged surface is evidenced by scanning electron microscopy, cross-section high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence (PL) mapping, and Raman mapping. Interestingly, the photo-responsivity (~254.5 mA/W) of as-grown MoS2 on the nano-rugged substrate exhibits 59 times higher than that of the planar sample (4.3 mA/W) under a small applied bias of 0.1 V. This value is record high when compared with all previous MoS2-based photocurrent generation under low or zero bias. Such a large enhancement in the photo-responsivity arises from a large active area for light-matter interaction and local strain for PL quenching, where the latter effect is the key factor and unique in the conformally grown monolayer on the nano-rugged surface. The result is a step toward the batch fabrication of modern atomic-thick optoelectronic devices.