AUTHOR=Ewert Moritz , Buß Lars , Braud Nicolas , Kundu Asish K. , Sheverdyaeva Polina M. , Moras Paolo , Genuzio Francesca , Menteş Tevfik Onur , Locatelli Andrea , Falta Jens , Flege Jan Ingo 

TITLE=The Transition From MoS2 Single-Layer to Bilayer Growth on the Au(111) Surface

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physics

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physics/articles/10.3389/fphy.2021.654845

DOI=10.3389/fphy.2021.654845

ISSN=2296-424X

ABSTRACT=<p>The transition from single-layer to bilayer growth of molybdenum disulfide on the Au(111) surface is investigated by <italic>in situ</italic> low-energy electron and photoemission microscopy. By mapping the film morphology with nanometer resolution, we show that a MoS<sub>2</sub> bilayer forms at the boundaries of single-layer single-domain MoS<sub>2</sub> islands and next to merging islands whereas bilayer nucleation at the island centers is found to be suppressed, which may be related to the usage of dimethyl disulfide as sulfur precursor in the growth process. This approach, which may open up the possibility of growing continuous films over large areas while delaying bilayer formation, is likely transferable to other transition metal dichalcogenide model systems.</p>