Taejin Choi

Layer-Controlled, Wafer-Scale, and Conformal Synthesis of Tungsten Disulfide Nanosheets Using Atomic Layer Deposition

The synthesis of atomically thin transition-metal disulfides (MS2) with layer controllability and large-area uniformity is an essential requirement for their application in electronic and optical devices. In this work, we describe a process for the synthesis of WS2 nanosheets through the sulfurization of an atomic layer deposition (ALD) WO3 film with systematic layer controllability and wafer-level uniformity. The X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, Raman, and photoluminescence measurements exhibit that the ALD-based WS2 nanosheets have good stoichiometry, clear Raman shift, and bandgap dependence as a function of the number of layers. The electron mobility of the monolayer WS2 measured using a field-effect transistor (FET) with a high-k dielectric gate insulator is shown to be better than that of CVD-grown WS2, and the subthreshold swing is comparable to that of an exfoliated MoS2 FET device. Moreover, by utilizing the high conformality of the ALD process, we have developed a process for the fabrication of WS2 nanotubes.

Synthesis of carbon nanotube–nickel nanocomposites using atomic layer deposition for high-performance non-enzymatic glucose sensing

A useful strategy has been developed to fabricate carbon-nanotube-nickel (CNT-Ni) nanocomposites through atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Ni and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of functionalized CNTs. Various techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), were used to characterize the morphology and the structure of as-prepared samples. It was confirmed that the products possess uniform Ni nanoparticles that are constructed by finely controlled deposition of Ni onto oxygen or bromine functionalized CNT surface. Electrochemical studies indicate that the CNT-Ni nanocomposites exhibit high electrocatalytic activity for glucose oxidation in alkaline solutions, which enables the products to be used in enzyme-free electrochemical sensors for glucose determination. It was demonstrated that the CNT-Ni nanocomposite-based glucose biosensor offers a variety of merits, such as a wide linear response window for glucose concentrations of 5 μM-2 mM, short response time (3 s), a low detection limit (2 μM), high sensitivity (1384.1 μA mM(-1) cm(-2)), and good selectivity and repeatability.

Controllable synthesis of molybdenum tungsten disulfide alloy for vertically composition-controlled multilayer

The effective synthesis of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides alloy is essential for successful application in electronic and optical devices based on a tunable band gap. Here we show a synthesis process for Mo1−xWxS2 alloy using sulfurization of super-cycle atomic layer deposition Mo1−xWxOy. Various spectroscopic and microscopic results indicate that the synthesized Mo1−xWxS2 alloys have complete mixing of Mo and W atoms and tunable band gap by systematically controlled composition and layer number. Based on this, we synthesize a vertically composition-controlled (VCC) Mo1−xWxS2 multilayer using five continuous super-cycles with different cycle ratios for each super-cycle. Angle-resolved X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, Raman and ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer results reveal that a VCC Mo1−xWxS2 multilayer has different vertical composition and broadband light absorption with strong interlayer coupling within a VCC Mo1−xWxS2 multilayer. Further, we demonstrate that a VCC Mo1−xWxS2 multilayer photodetector generates three to four times greater photocurrent than MoS2- and WS2-based devices, owing to the broadband light absorption.

Improvement of Gas-Sensing Performance of Large-Area Tungsten Disulfide Nanosheets by Surface Functionalization

Semiconducting two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are promising gas-sensing materials due to their large surface-to-volume ratio. However, their poor gas-sensing performance resulting from the low response, incomplete recovery, and insufficient selectivity hinders the realization of high-performance 2D TMDC gas sensors. Here, we demonstrate the improvement of gas-sensing performance of large-area tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanosheets through surface functionalization using Ag nanowires (NWs). Large-area WS2 nanosheets were synthesized through atomic layer deposition of WO3 followed by sulfurization. The pristine WS2 gas sensors exhibited a significant response to acetone and NO2 but an incomplete recovery in the case of NO2 sensing. After AgNW functionalization, the WS2 gas sensor showed dramatically improved response (667%) and recovery upon NO2 exposure. Our results establish that the proposed method is a promising strategy to improve 2D TMDC gas sensors.

Synthesis of Few-Layered Graphene Nanoballs with Copper Cores Using Solid Carbon Source

We report the fabrication of graphene-encapsulated nanoballs with copper nanoparticle (Cu NP) cores whose size range from 40 nm to 1 μm using a solid carbon source of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The Cu NPs were prone to agglomerate during the annealing process at high temperatures of 800 to 900 °C when gas carbon source such as methane was used for the growth of graphene. On the contrary, the morphologies of the Cu NPs were unchanged during the growth of graphene at the same temperature range when PMMA coating was used. The solid source of PMMA was first converted to amorphous carbon layers through a pyrolysis process at the temperature regime of 400 °C, which prevented the Cu NPs from agglomeration, and they were converted to few-layered graphene (FLG) at the elevated temperatures. Raman and transmission electron microscope analyses confirmed the synthesis of FLG with thickness of approximately 3 nm directly on the surface of the Cu NPs. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses, along with electrical resistance measurement according to temperature changes showed that the FLG-encapsulated Cu NPs were highly resistant to oxidation even after exposure to severe oxidation conditions.

n-ZnO:N/p-Si nanowire photodiode prepared by atomic layer deposition

Core-shell p-n junction diode was fabricated using the atomic layer deposition (ALD) of ZnO on p-Si nanowire (NW) array prepared by electroless etching method. I-V measurements have shown that the carrier concentrations in ALD ZnO for both of the core-shell and planar diodes are effectively controlled by nitrogen doping to a proper level to form rectifying junction. Responsivity of the core-shell device was about 0.98 A/W at 660 nm, which is significantly improved compared to planar device. The superior sensitivity of core-shell structure is attributed to the effective carrier separation and collection originating from the characteristic of core-shell NWs full depletion.

Self-Limiting Layer Synthesis of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides.

This work reports the self-limiting synthesis of an atomically thin, two dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDCs) in the form of MoS2. The layer controllability and large area uniformity essential for electronic and optical device applications is achieved through atomic layer deposition in what is named self-limiting layer synthesis (SLS); a process in which the number of layers is determined by temperature rather than process cycles due to the chemically inactive nature of 2D MoS2. Through spectroscopic and microscopic investigation it is demonstrated that SLS is capable of producing MoS2 with a wafer-scale (~10 cm) layer-number uniformity of more than 90%, which when used as the active layer in a top-gated field-effect transistor, produces an on/off ratio as high as 108. This process is also shown to be applicable to WSe2, with a PN diode fabricated from a MoS2/WSe2 heterostructure exhibiting gate-tunable rectifying characteristics.

Fabrication of Transferable Al2O3 Nanosheet by Atomic Layer Deposition for Graphene FET

Without introducing defects in the monolayer of carbon lattice, the deposition of high-κ dielectric material is a significant challenge because of the difficulty of high-quality oxide nucleation on graphene. Previous investigations of the deposition of high-κ dielectrics on graphene have often reported significant degradation of the electrical properties of graphene. In this study, we report a new way to integrate high-κ dielectrics with graphene by transferring a high-κ dielectric nanosheet onto graphene. Al2O3 film was deposited on a sacrificial layer using an atomic layer deposition process and the Al2O3 nanosheet was fabricated by removing the sacrificial layer. Top-gated graphene field-effect transistors were fabricated and characterized using the Al2O3 nanosheet as a gate dielectric. The top-gated graphene was demonstrated to have a field-effect mobility up to 2200 cm(2)/(V s). This method provides a new method for high-performance graphene devices with broad potential impacts reaching from high-frequency high-speed circuits to flexible electronics.

The neutral-current neutrino-nucleus scattering in the quasielastic region

The neutral-current neutrino-nucleus scattering is calculated through the neutrino-induced knocked-out nucleon process in the quasielastic region by using a relativistic single particle model for the bound and continuum states. The incident energy range between 500 MeV and 1.0 GeV is used for the neutrino (antineutrino) scattering on the 12C target nucleus. The effects of the final state interaction of the knocked-out nucleon are studied not only on the cross section but also on the asymmetry due to the difference between neutrinos and antineutrinos, within a relativistic optical potential. We also investigate the sensitivity of the strange quark contents in the nucleon on the asymmetry.

Radiative Muon Capture and Induced Pseudoscalar Coupling Constant in Nuclear Matter

Radiative muon capture is studied to investigate the induced pseudoscalar coupling constant gP in nuclear matter. According to the recent TRIUMF experiment for μ−p → nνμγ, the gP was surprisingly larger than the value obtained from μ−p → nνμ experiment by as much as 44%. The result may affect seriously theoretical interpretations of the experimental results for the radiative muon captures in finite nuclei. In view of the recent TRIUMF result, the radiative muon capture in nuclear matter is revisited in a framework of the relativistic mean field theory.