Strain and structure heterogeneity in MoS2 atomic layers grown by chemical vapour deposition

Monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) has attracted tremendous attention due to its promising applications in high-performance field-effect transistors, phototransistors, spintronic devices and nonlinear optics. The enhanced photoluminescence effect in monolayer MoS 2 was discovered and, as a strong tool, was employed for strain and defect analysis in MoS 2 . Recently, large-size monolayer MoS 2 has been produced by chemical vapour deposition, but has not yet been fully explored. Here we systematically characterize chemical vapour deposition-grown MoS 2 by photoluminescence spectroscopy and mapping and demonstrate non-uniform strain in single-crystalline monolayer MoS 2 and strain-induced bandgap engineering. We also evaluate the effective strain transferred from polymer substrates to MoS 2 by three-dimensional finite element analysis. Furthermore, our work demonstrates that photoluminescence mapping can be used as a non-contact approach for quick identification of grain boundaries in MoS 2 . Large-size monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) has recently been produced via chemical vapour deposition (CVD), yet its structures and physical properties are yet to be fully explored. Here, the authors study the growth-induced strain in CVD-grown MoS 2 and strain-based bandgap engineering of MoS 2 .