Recently, a few attempts to synthesize monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) using the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process had been demonstrated. However, the development of alternative processes to synthesize TMDs is an important step because of the time-consuming, required transfer and low thermal efficiency of the CVD process. Here, we demonstrate a method to achieve few-layers WSe2 on an insulator via laser irradiation assisted selenization (LIAS) process directly, for which the amorphous WO3 film undergoes a reduction process in the presence of selenium gaseous vapors to form WSe2, utilizing laser annealing as a heating source. Detailed growth parameters such as laser power and laser irradiation time were investigated. In addition, microstructures, optical and electrical properties were investigated. Furthermore, a patternable WSe2 concept was demonstrated by patterning the WO3 film followed by the laser irradiation. By combining the patternable process, the transfer-free WSe2 back gate field effect transistor (FET) devices are realized on 300 nm-thick SiO2/P(+)Si substrate with extracted field effect mobility of ∼0.2 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). Similarly, the reduction process by the laser irradiation can be also applied for the synthesis of other TMDs such as MoSe2 from other metal oxides such as MO3 film, suggesting that the process can be further extended to other TMDs. The method ensures one-step process to fabricate patternable TMDs, highlighting the uniqueness of the laser irradiation for the synthesis of different TMDs.
Keywords: MoSe2; TMDs; WO3; laser irradiation assisted-selenization process; patternable growth.