Abstract Scope |
All modern electronics consist of three basic types of material: insulators, semiconductors, and metals. Finding new ways to condense the size of these materials is a persistent goal of the scientific community, and we aim to aid that endeavor by improving methods of selectively transforming regions of molybdenum di-sulfide (MoS2) from its semiconductor phase into its metal phase. Using an electron beam, we directly expose thin flakes of exfoliated MoS2 on a SiO2 substrate to a variety of doses to create patterns of metallic regions. Changes in the work function of the MoS2 are consistent with our expectations for a structural phase transition where the crystal lattice enters a higher energy configuration while energetic injected electrons can fall to lower energy states. The resulting metallic phase reduces its total energy and remains stable. This work paves the way to mono-material electronic devices, which will drastically save space and material costs. |