Abstract
There have been continuous efforts to seek novel functional two-dimensional semiconductors with high performance for future applications in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. In this work, we introduce a successful experimental approach to fabricate monolayer phosphorene by mechanical cleavage and a subsequent Ar+ plasma thinning process. The thickness of phosphorene is unambiguously determined by optical contrast spectra combined with atomic force microscopy (AFM). Raman spectroscopy is used to characterize the pristine and plasma-treated samples. The Raman frequency of the A2g mode stiffens, and the intensity ratio of A2g to A1g modes shows a monotonic discrete increase with the decrease of phosphorene thickness down to a monolayer. All those phenomena can be used to identify the thickness of this novel two-dimensional semiconductor. This work on monolayer phosphorene fabrication and thickness determination will facilitate future research on phosphorene.
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Lu, W., Nan, H., Hong, J. et al. Plasma-assisted fabrication of monolayer phosphorene and its Raman characterization. Nano Res. 7, 853–859 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0446-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0446-7