Preferential growth of crystalline MoS2 on patterned Ni channels in contact with Au thin films

We report selective growth of few-layered, crystalline MoS
2
on Ni thin films while inhibiting growth on Au thin films and SiO
2
/Si when using conventional MoS
2
CVD based on MoO
3
and S precursors. This allows for selective growth of crystalline MoS
2
with precise spatial control and repeatability across large areas with optimal precursor delivery and is critical to large-scale manufacturing of MoS
2
devices. This selective growth is postulated to be due to differences in surface energy of the Ni/Au/SiO
2
surfaces. Contact angle measurements show that Ni thin films have a lower contact angle and are more hydrophilic than Au or SiO
2
. Previous studies have shown that low concentrations of Ni result in formation of larger grains of MoS
2
, aiding the growth of MoS
2
on patterned Ni channels. Ongoing work explores the possibility of selectively etching the underlying Ni thin films to use these patterned Au/MoS
2
thin films as FET devices.