TMD Growth by MBE and Beyond
Due to their remarkable physical properties, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are among the most extensively studied 2D
materials after graphene. However, the crystalline quality and purity of epitaxial TMD layers remain major obstacles to large-scale
development.
Since 2021, CRHEA has been working on the epitaxial growth of TMDs using a Riber MBE 32P reactor that has been retrofitted for 2D
materials. This reactor, equipped with an electron gun for the evaporation of transition metals and an H₂S gas line, has enabled
the 2D+ team to begin developing the growth of 2D transition metal sulfide layers on various types of substrates (2D or 3D) such
as sapphire, SiC, nitrides, and Gr/SiC. For example, on GaN/sapphire, the CRHEA grew triangular domains with a thickness of one
monolayer (~0.7 nm) with two different epitaxial orientations (0°, 60°) and a Raman signature characteristic of MoS2 (A1g and E12g).
The team is working on optimizing growth conditions to control nucleation and coalescence in order to form high-quality monolayers
on large-area substrates. The CRHEA is involved in several projects (Nanofutur, PEPR ADICT), which will enable it to expand its work
on 2D materials and acquire a new MBE reactor connected, via a glove box, to a liquid precursor injection (DLI) CVD reactor.
This cluster, unique in France and very rare worldwide, will enable the development of innovative 2D materials and nanostructures.
Thanks to this growth cluster, the choice of components for developing 2D materials will not be limited solely to TMDs but will expand
to include other 2D materials. This will provide an excellent MBE-CVD platform for the creation of novel 2D material heterostructures.
Growth Methods Riber 32P MBE reactor used for the growth of MoS₂ and WS₂
Growth cluster
MBE reactor connected to a CDV-DLI reactor via a glove box (installation in progress)
Instructors: Mohamed Al Khalfioui (Assistant Professor) and Minh-Tuan Dau (Assistant Professor)
Mohamed Al Khalfioui :
- 2003, thèse au CEM2* : microstructures thermoélectriques élaborées par évaporation flash et applications aux micro-capteurs thermiques
- ATER au GREYC : développement d’un banc de caractérisation bolométrique
- 2005, MCF au CRHEA : croissance MBE de GINA, nitrures de terres rares et matériaux 2D
aujourd’hui IES
Selected publications:
- Enhanced Sm spin projection in GdxSm1−xN, J. D. Miller et al., Phys. Rev. B, 106, 174432 (2022)
- Epitaxial Zn3N2 thin films by molecular beam epitaxy: Structural, electrical and optical properties,
P. John et al, J. Appl. Phys., 130, 065104, (2021)
- UVB LEDs Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy Using AlGaN Quantum Dots, J. Brault et al., Crystals, 10, 1097 (2020)
- Role of In in hydrogenation of N-related complexes in GaInNAs, T.Mou et al., ACS Appl. Electron. Mater., 1, 461 (2019)
Minh-Tuan Dau :
- 2011, thèse au CINaM : croissance par MBE, caractérisations structurales et magnétiques des couches minces ferromagnétiques Mn5Ge3, Ge1-xMnx
- contrat chercheur CINaM : croissance par MBE, CVD de Ge contraint et fortement dopé ; caractérisations structurales et électriques
- post-doc au PDI : croissance par MBE, propriétés structurales, thermoélectriques et transport de spin dans les alliages de Heusler
- ingénieur-chercheur au CEA : épitaxie van der Waals de disélénures de métaux de transition (matériaux 2D) ; caractérisations de Raman,
caractérisations électriques et magnéto-transport ; pompage de spin par résonance ferromagnétique dans les matériaux 2D <
- 2021, MCF au CRHEA : épitaxie par MBE et CVD de matériaux 2D ; caractérisations structurales, spectroscopiques et électriques ;
utilisation de machine learning en sciences des matériaux 2D
Selected publications:
- Beyond van der Waals interaction: the case of MoSe2 epitaxially grown on few-layer graphene, M. T. Dau et al., ACS Nano 12, 2319 (2018)
- The valley Nernst effect in WSe2, M. T. Dau et al., Nat. Commun. 10, 5796 (2019)
- Synthesis of epitaxial monolayer Janus SPtSe, R. Sant et al., NPJ 2D Mater. Appl. 4, 41 (2020)
- The search for manganese incorporation in MoSe2 monolayer epitaxially grown on graphene , M. Gay et al., C. R. Phys. 22, 5 (2021)
- Descriptor engineering in machine learning regression of electronic structure properties for 2D materials, M. T. Dau et al., Sci. Rep. 13, 5426 (2023)
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