Chemical Vapor Deposition Growth of Few-Layer MoTe2 in the 2H, 1T′, and 1T Phases: Tunable Properties of MoTe2 Films

TLDR: The authors' experimental 1T films affirm the former, show facile μA-scale source-drain currents, and increase in conductivity with temperature, different from the 1T' phase.

Abstract: Chemical vapor deposition allows the preparation of few-layer films of MoTe2 in three distinct structural phases depending on the growth quench temperature: 2H, 1T′, and 1T. We present experimental and computed Raman spectra for each of the phases and utilize transport measurements to explore the properties of the 1T MoTe2 phase. Density functional theory modeling predicts a (semi-)metallic character. Our experimental 1T films affirm the former, show facile μA-scale source-drain currents, and increase in conductivity with temperature, different from the 1T′ phase. Variation of the growth method allows the formation of hybrid films of mixed phases that exhibit susceptibility to gating and significantly increased conductivity.