Sensitive determination of mechanical and thermal properties of MoS2 multilayers using microcantilevers

Understanding the mechanical and thermal properties of MoS2 multilayers is of importance for applications ranging from nano-mechanical structures to high-performance flexible electronics. The conventional methods such as micro-Raman spectroscopy, are often constrained by factors like probing laser beam induced heating and substrate interactions. In the present work, we demonstrate a novel method to estimate the Young’s modulus, strain and thermal expansion co-efficient of MoS2 multilayers using a bimaterial like micro-mechanical device made of MoS2 and SiO2. SiO2 microcantilevers (MC) were fabricated using bulk micromachining technique and MoS2 layers were grown on one side of the device by chemical vapor deposition method. Shift in resonance frequency due to the added MOS2 layers on MCs was used to estimate the Young’s modulus of layered MoS2. Similarly, growth induced curvature change of the bimaterial MCs was measured to estimate the interfacial stress between the MoS2 multilayers and the substrate. From the measured temperature induced curvature changes, thermal expansion co-efficient of layered MoS2 was estimated. [Display omitted] •Thermo-mechanical properties of MoS2 multilayers are estimated using microcantilevers.•SiO2 microcantilevers were fabricated by bulk micromachining method and MoS2 layers were grown by CVD technique.•Shift in resonance frequency of microcantilevers, due to added MoS2, was used to estimate Young’s Modulus.•Curvature of as fabricated cantilevers was used to estimate the mean and gradient residual stress in MoS2/SiO2 system.•Thermal expansion coefficient of MoS2 was estimated from temperature induced bending of cantilevers.