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Rapidly counting atomic planes of ultra-thin MoSe2 nanosheets (1 ≤ n ≤ 4) on SiO2/Si substrate

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Abstract

The optical, thermal and electrical properties of ultra-thin two-dimensional (2D) crystal materials are highly related to their thickness. Therefore, identifying the atomic planes of few-layer crystal materials rapidly is crucial to fundamental study. Here, a simple technique was demonstrated based on optical contrast for counting atomic planes (n) of few-layer MoSe2 on SiO2/Si substrates. It is found that the optical contrast of single-layer MoSe2 depends on light wavelength and thickness of SiO2 on Si substrate. The data calculated based on a Fresnel law-based model as well as atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements fit well with the values measured by spectroscopic ellipsometer. Furthermore, the calculated and measured contrasts were integral and plotted, which can be used to determine the MoSe2 atomic planes (1 ≤ n ≤ 4) accurately and rapidly.

Graphical Abstract

The optical contrast of thin-layer (1 ≤ n ≤ 4) MoSe2 sample was calculated by Fresnel’s law, and the contrast was measured by OM image. By combining these two group data, a function of layer numbers and contrast was developed: C (contrast) = 0.07N + 0.177. This proves that contrast is linear to layer numbers of MoSe2 when layer number is less than 4.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Research Funds of Renmin University of China (Nos. 13XNLF02 and 14XNLQ07) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 11304381, 11004245, 11174366 and 51202200).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China

    Yi-Ping Wang, Hui-Jun Zhou, Gui-Hua Zhao, Tian-Long Xia, Le Wang & Li-Yuan Zhang

  2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Opto-electronic Functional Materials and Micro-nano Devices, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China

    Yi-Ping Wang, Hui-Jun Zhou, Gui-Hua Zhao, Tian-Long Xia, Le Wang & Li-Yuan Zhang

  3. Department of Power and Electrical Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Lei Wang

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  1. Yi-Ping Wang
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  2. Hui-Jun Zhou
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  4. Tian-Long Xia
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  5. Lei Wang
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  6. Le Wang
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  7. Li-Yuan Zhang
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Correspondence to Le Wang.

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Wang, YP., Zhou, HJ., Zhao, GH. et al. Rapidly counting atomic planes of ultra-thin MoSe2 nanosheets (1 ≤ n ≤ 4) on SiO2/Si substrate. Rare Met. 35, 632–636 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-016-0776-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-016-0776-6

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