2025/06/04 by A. Rajan, Akhil Rajan, Rajan, A. +16 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Engineering · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) #Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2506.04388
Two-dimensional transition metal chalcogenides, with their atomically layered structure, favourable electronic and mechanical properties, and often strong spin-orbit coupling, are ideal systems for fundamental studies and for applications ranging from spintronics to optoelectronics. Their bottom-up synthesis via epitaxial techniques such as molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) has, however, proved challenging. Here, we develop a simple substrate pre-treatment process utilising exposure to a low-energy noble gas plasma. We show how this dramatically enhances nucleation of an MBE-grown epilayer atop, and through this, realise a true layer-by-layer growth mode. We further demonstrate the possibility of tuning the resulting growth dynamics via control of the species and dose of the plasma exposure.