Phase-driven magneto-electrical characteristics of single-layer MoS2

Magnetism of the MoS2 semiconducting atomic layer was highlighted for its great potential in the applications of spintronics and valleytronics. In this study, we demonstrate an evolution of magneto-electrical properties of single layer MoS2 with the modulation of defect configurations and formation of a partial 1T phase. With Ar treatment, sulfur was depleted within the MoS2 flake leading to a 2H (low-spin) → partial 1T (high-spin) phase transition. The phase transition was accompanied by the development of a ferromagnetic phase. Alternatively, the phase transition could be driven by the desorption of S atoms at the edge of MoS2via O2 treatment while with a different ordering magnitude in magnetism. The edge-sensitive magnetism of the single-layer MoS2 was monitored by magnetic force microscopy and validated by a first-principle calculation with graded-Vs (sulfur vacancy) terminals set at the edge, where band-splitting appeared more prominent with increasing Vs. Treatment with Ar and O2 enabled a dual electrical characteristic of the field effect transistor (FET) that featured linear and saturated responses of different magnitudes in the Ids-Vds curves, whereas the pristine MoS2 FET displayed only a linear electrical dependency. The correlation and tuning of the Vs-1T phase transition would provide a playground for tailoring the phase-driven properties of MoS2 semiconducting atomic layers in spintronic applications.