Researchers Develop Method To Make 2D Molybdenum Diselenide

Researchers from Singapore and the US have found a potentially scalable method of producing an important semiconductor called molybdenum diselenide.

AsianScientist (Apr. 21, 2014) – Researchers in Singapore and the US have developed a potentially scalable method of producing an important semiconductor called molybdenum diselenide.

The team from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Rice University in the US describe in ACS Nano a method for making one-atom-thick, or two-dimensional (2-D), layers of molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2). MoSe2 is a highly sought semiconductor possessing suitable properties for making certain electronic devices like switchable transistors and light-emitting diodes.

To produce 2-D MoSe2, they used a technique known as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which is widely used by the semiconductor and materials industries to make thin silicon films and carbon fibers, among other materials.

To test their method, the team built a commonly used industrial device called the field effect transistor (FET), made out of one-atom-thick MoSe2 layers. It turns out that electronic properties of MoSe2 layers were significantly better than those of a similar and commonly studied material known as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). In particular, the better electron mobility of MoSe2 could translate into reduced power consumption and heating in microelectronic devices.

The authors say that their method could be used to produce other 2-D materials, many of which are widely used in semiconductors and microelectronic devices.

The article can be found at: Wang et al. (2014) Chemical Vapor Deposition Growth of Crystalline Monolayer MoSe2.

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Source: Rice University; Photo: steve lodefink/CC/Flickr.
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Alan Aw is a maths enthusiast who likes sharing the fun and beauty of science with others. Besides reading, he enjoys running, badminton, and listening to (and occasionally playing) Bach or Zez Confrey.

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