Nucleation dynamics of single crystal WS2 from droplet precursors uncovered by in-situ monitoring

Abstract

Abstract Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) attract intence attention due to its unique optoelectrical features. Recent progress in production stage of TMD enables us to synthesis uniform and large area TMD with mono layer thickness. Elucidation of growth mechanism is a challenge to improve the crystallinity of TMD, which is regargeded as a next crutial subject in the production stage. Here we report novel diffusion and nucleation dynamics during tungsten disulphide (WS2) growth. The diffusion length (Ld) of the precursors have been measured with unique nucleation control methods. It was revealed that the Ld reaches up to ~750 μm. This ultra-long diffusion can be attributed to precursor droplets observed during in-situ monitoring of WS2 growth. The integrated synthesis of >35,000 single crystals and monolayer WS2 was achieved at the wafer scale based on this model. Our findings are highly significant for both the fundamental study of droplet-mediated crystal growth and the industrial application of integrated single-crystal TMDs.