Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with intrinsic band gaps are considered to be prospective alternatives for graphene in the applications of emerging nano-semiconductor devices. As a significant member of the TMDs family, WSe₂ with superior optical properties attracts increasing attention, especially in the optoelectronics. In this thesis, the electronic and mechanical properties of 2D WSe₂ have been studied experimentally and theoretically. Firstly, the fabrication of substrate-supported and suspended pre-patterned WSe₂ FETs with the low-cost optical lithography and vapour HF etching technology have been realised. The subsequent electrical measurement of the fabricated WSe₂ FETs indicates that the WSe₂/dielectric interface can affect the electrical performance of 2D WSe₂ negatively. To gain more insights on the impact of field-effect on 2D WSe₂, first-principle calculations have been conducted in this research to study the evolutions of the crystal structure, electronic band structure, conductive channel size, and electrical transport property of WSe2 under various levels of field-effect. Furthermore, a layer thinning and chemical doping method of 2D WSe₂ by vapour XeF₂ exposure featured with good air-stability, scalability, and controllability has been developed to enable the layer engineering of 2D WSe₂ and integration of 2D WSe₂ to logic circuits, solar cells, and light-emitting diodes (LED). The thinning and doping mechanism has been investigated with a combination of Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and Xray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization techniques. Afterwards, the inplane elastic properties (including the Young's modulus, breaking strain, and etc.) of 2D WSe₂ have been measured with nanoindentation experiments implemented by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results prove the suitability of 2D WSe₂ in the applications of flexible devices and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) operating in the audio resonance frequency, such as acoustic sensors and loudspeakers. To provide a comprehensive understanding of the strain engineering of 2D WSe₂, the strain induced variations of the crystal structure, electronic band structure, and electrical transport property of 2D WSe₂ have been further studied with first-principle calculations, which paves the way for the performance tuning of 2D WSe₂ devices via strain and applications of 2D WSe₂ in strain sensors.

Two-dimensional (2D) layered materials such as MoS2 have been recognized as high on-off ratio semiconductors which are promising candidates for electronic and optoelectronic devices. In addition to the use of individual 2D materials, the accelerated field of 2D heterostructures enables even greater functionalities. Device designs differ, and they are strongly controlled by the electronic band alignment. For example, photovoltaic cells require type II heterostructures for light harvesting, and light-emitting diodes benefit from multiple quantum wells with the type I band alignment for high emission efficiency. The vertical tunneling field-effect transistor for next-generation electronics depends on nearly broken-gap band alignment for boosting its performance. To tailor these 2D layered materials toward possible future applications, the understanding of 2D heterostructure band alignment becomes critically important. In the first part of this thesis, we discuss the band alignment of 2D heterostructures. To do so, we firstly study the interlayer coupling between two dissimilar 2D materials. We conclude that a post-anneal process could enhance the interlayer coupling of as-transferred 2D heterostructures, and heterostructural stacking imposes similar symmetry changes as homostructural stacking. Later, we precisely determine the quasi particle bandgap and band alignment of the MoS2/WSe2 heterostructure by using scan tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S) and micron-beam X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (μ-XPS) techniques. Lastly, we prove that the band alignment of 2D heterojunctions can be accurately predicted by Anderson’s model, which has previously failed to predict conventional bulk heterostructures. In the second part of this thesis, we develop a new Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method capable of precisely controlling the growth area of p- and n-type transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) and further form lateral or vertical 2D heterostructures. This method also allows p- and n-type TMDCs to separately grow in a selective area in one step. In addition, we demonstrate a first bottom-up 2D complementary inverter based on hetero-TMDCs.

La possibilité de créer des monocouches de dichalcogenures à métaux de transition (MoS2, WSe2,MoSe2 pour ceux étudiés dans ce manuscrit) a été démontrée récemment (2005) et a ouvert la voie à l’étude de ces matériaux sous leur forme 2D. Il apparaît depuis que les propriétés de ces semi-conducteurs sous leur forme monocouche offrent des perspectives intéressantes à la fois du point de vue de la physique fondamentale et des potentielles applications qui peuvent en découler ; en plus de bénéficier d’un fort couplage avec la lumière, l’existence d’un gap important (situé dans le visible, 1.7-1.8 eV) permet entre autres de réaliser des transistors d’épaisseur mono-atomique. Par ailleurs, la physique de ces matériaux est prometteuse pour les applications dans le domaine de l’optoélectronique. En effet, lorsque le matériau est affiné jusqu’à la monocouche atomique, son gap optique devient direct et la brisure de symétrie d’inversion associée au fort couplage spin-orbite provoque l’apparition de règles de sélection optique originales qui relient directement la polarisation de la lumière émise ou absorbée à une des deux vallées non-équivalentes de l’espace réciproque. Cela ouvre la possibilité d’explorer une nouvelle physique, basée sur l’indice de vallée et intitulée en conséquence vallée-tronique, avec comme perspectives futures la manipulation de l’indice de vallée et l’exploitation d’effetsliés à cette relation originale entre propriétés optiques et électroniques (effet vallée-Hall par exemple). Cemanuscrit de thèse regroupe une série d’expériences réalisées dans le but de comprendre et caractériser les propriétés optoélectroniques de ces matériaux. Un premier chapitre introductif présente le contexte scientifique de ces travaux de recherche et démontre l’origine des propriétés électroniques et optiques de ces matériaux via un modèle théorique simple. Le second chapitre présente en détails les échantillons étudiés ainsi que le dispositif expérimental utilisé lors des mesures. Enfin les chapitres 3 à 6 détaillent les expériences menées et les résultats obtenus ; le lecteur y trouvera des mesures de photoluminescence apportant la démonstration expérimentale des règles de sélection optique, l’identification des différents raies spectrales d’émission pour les différentstypes d’échantillons mentionnés plus haut ainsi que des mesures de photoluminescence résolues en temps permettant d’extraire la dynamique des propriétés des porteurs photo-générés. Une part importante de ce manuscrit est consacrée à l’étude expérimentale des propriétés excitoniques de ces matériaux dont la structure de bande électronique est finalement sondée via des études de magnéto-spectroscopie. / The possibility of isolating transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers by simple experimental means has been demonstrated in 2005, by the same technique used for graphene. This has sparked extremely diverse and active research by material scientists, physicists and chemists on these perfectly two-dimensional (2D) materials. Their physical properties inmonolayer formare appealing both fromthe point of view of fundamental science and for potential applications. Transition metal dichalcogenidemonolayers such asMoS2 have a direct optical bandgap in the visible and show strong absorption of the order of 10% per monolayer. For transistors based on single atomic layers, the presence of a gap allows to obtain high on/off ratios.In addition to potential applications in electronics and opto-electronics these 2D materials allow manipulating a new degree of freedom of electrons, in addition to the spin and the charge : Inversion symmetry breaking in addition to the strong spin-orbit coupling result in very original optical selection rules. The direct bandgap is situated at two non-equivalent valleys in k-space, K+ and K−. Using a specific laser polarization, carriers can be initialized either in the K+ or K− valley, allowing manipulating the valley index of the electronic states. This opens up an emerging research field termed "valleytronics". The present manuscript contains a set of experiments allowing understanding and characterizing the optoelectronic properties of these new materials. The first chapter is dedicated to the presentation of the scientific context. The original optical and electronic properties of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides are demonstrated using a simple theoreticalmodel. The second chapter presents details of the samples and the experimental setup. Chapters 3 to 6 present details of the experiments carried out and the results obtained. We verify experimentally the optical selection rules. We identify the different emission peaks in the monolayer materials MoS2, WSe2 and MoSe2. In time resolved photoluminescence measurements we study the dynamics of photo-generated carriersand their polarization. An important part of this study is dedicated to experimental investigations of the properties of excitons, Coulomb bound electron-hole pairs. In the final experimental chapter, magneto-Photoluminescence allows us to probe the electronic band structure and to lift the valley degeneracy.

Les monofeuillets de dichalcogénures de métaux de transition (TMDC) tels que MoS2 ou WSe2 sont des semiconducteurs bidimensionnels à gap direct, dont les allées K et K' sont inéquivalentes dans la première zone de Brillouin : la levée de dégénérescence induite par le couplage spin-orbite entre les bandes de spin up et dawn est inversée entre les vallées K et K'. Des contacts métalliques magnétiques devraient permettre une injection de spin efficace depuis une électrode magnétique vers un TMDC. Les indices de vallée (Kou K') et de spin (up ou dawn) étant fortement couplés, cela permettrait de sélectionner électriquement l'une ou l'autre des vallées et de réaliser des dispositifs à base de TMDC pour la spintronique (exploitant le spin des électrons) ou pour la valléetronique (exploitant l'indice de vallée des électrons). Dans cette thèse, nous explorons les propriétés physiques des interfaces Co(OOOl)/MoS2 et Ni(lll)/WSe2 par des méthodes de calcul ab-initia basées sur la théorie de la fonctionnelle de la densité. Nous démontrons la nature covalente des liaisons à l'interface entre les monofeuillets de TMDC et les surfaces magnétiques Co(OOOl) et Ni(lll). Nous décrivons la structure atomique de ces interfaces, ainsi que la modification des moments magnétiques induite par des transferts de charge électrique entre atomes. Les liaisons covalentes aux interfaces confèrent aux monofeuillets de MoS2 et de WSe2 un caractère métallique. Nos calculs donnent finalement accès à la polarisation en spin au niveau de Fermi du TMDC connecté à ces électrodes magnétiques, ainsi qu'à la hauteur de la barrière Schottky (différence entre le niveau de Fermi dans la phase métallique du TMDC situé sous le contact magnétique et le bas de la bande de conduction du TMDC pur dans le canal). / Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) single layers like MoS2 or WSe2 are direct band gap two-dimensional semiconductors, with non-equivalent K and K' valleys in the first Brillouin zone. The degeneracy liftingbetween spin-up and spin-down energy bands induced by spin-orbit coupling is inverted between the K and K' valleys . Magnetic metallic contacts should allow spin-injection from a magnetic electrode to a TMDC single layer. The valley (K or K') and spin (up or down) indexes being strongly coupled, this should also allow to electrically select one of the valleys in TMDC-based spintronic or valleytronic deviees. In this Thesis, we have studied the physical properties of the Co(OOOl)/MoS2 and Ni(lll)/WSe2 interfaces with first-principles methods based on the density functional theory. We demonstrated that the TMDC single layers are covalently bound to the Co(OOOl) and Ni(lll) surfaces. We describe the atomic structure of these interfaces and the modification of the magnetic moments induced by charge transfer between interface atomes. The MoS2 and WSe2 single layers become metallic when they are covalently bound to the magnetic metals. We also calculated the spin-polarization at the Fermi level of the TMDC layers connected to th Co and Ni electrodes and the Schottky barrier height (difference between the Fermi level in the metallic phase of the TMDC below the magnetic contact and the bottom of the conduction band in a pure TMDC channel).

In this work, we have explored 2D semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), black phosphorus (BP), and graphene for various applications using liquid and mechanical exfoliation routes. The topical areas of interest that motivate our work include considering factors such as device integration, stability, doping, and the effect of gasses to modulate the electronic transport characteristics of the underlying 2D materials. In the first area, we have integrated solution-processed transparent conducting oxides (TCOs), specifically indium-doped tin oxide (ITO) with BP, which is a commonly used TCO for solar cell devices. Here we have found surface treatment of glass substrates with a plasma before spin-coating the solution-processed ITO, to be effective in improving coverage and uniformity of the ITO film by promoting wettability and film adhesion. The maximum transmittance obtained was measured to be ~75% in the visible region, while electrical measurements made on BP/ITO heterostructures showed improved transport characteristics compared to the bare ITO film. Within the integration realm, inkjet-printing of BP and MoS2 p-n hetero-junctions on standard ITO glass substrates in a vertical architecture was also demonstrated. To address the issue of stability which some 2D materials such as BP face, we experimented with ionic liquids (ILs) to passivation the hydrophilic surface of BP to minimize its oxidative degradation. The enhanced stability of BP was inferred through Raman spectroscopy and scanning probe microscopy techniques, where no observable changes in the A1g and A2g Raman vibrational modes were observed for the BP films passivated with ILs over time under ambient conditions. On the other hand, a blue-shift in these Raman modes was evident for unpassivated samples. Atomic force microscopy measurements on the unpassivated samples clearly revealed the difference in surface characteristics through localized regions of degradation that intensified with time which was absent in IL passivated BP samples. The electronic device measurements for IL coated BP devices showed a more stabilized Ids−Vds characteristic in the 5.4 K to 335 K temperature range. Prototypical demonstrations of stabilized ILs/BP devices at ambient printed on flexible polyimide substrates were also successfully made. At the same time, doping is one of the essential steps required for the modulation of carrier density and electronic transport in electronic and optoelectronic devices, which is the third topical area we have addressed in this work with semiconducting TMDs. Of the conventional approaches used to dope 3D semiconductors, ion-implantation is commonly adopted but given the ultra-thin nature of 2D materials, this approach is not feasible as it causes severe damage to the delicate crystalline lattice of ultra-thin 2D membranes. Instead, we have used plasma-based doping routes with UV-ozone treatement and solution processing using 1,2 dichloroethane, to characterize the temperature-dependent two-terminal and three-terminal electronic and optoelectronic transport of mechanically exfoliated 2D MoS2 and WSe2. A significant difference was seen in the optoelectronic properties between the two dopants, owing to differences in their respective doping mechanisms and the intrinsic structural attributes of the exfoliated flakes. A significant reduction in barrier height was evident after doping using both techniques in MoS2, while an increase in barrier height after soaking in 1,2 dichloroethane was seen in WSe2. Lastly, in the fourth topical area for sensing devices, we have studied the effect of gas-flow in inkjet-printed and spin-coated graphene and MoS2 to modulate the electronic transport for the 2D materials since their increased surface area is an ideal platform to observe interactions with external stimuli, in this case, in-coming gas species. Here, the chamber pressure and change in current with flow of gas was measured in the steady-state, as well as time-dependent dynamic transport toward nitrogen and carbon dioxide. We observed significant differences in the electrical response of mono-elemental graphene and binary MoS2, owing to differences in microstructure and joule heating response to the ambient gas. In conclusion, the findings obtained from our work will provide an important framework to help guide strategies in further improving integration schemes, stability, doping and sensing behavior driven by the unique structural attributes inherent to 2D materials for high-performance devices in the future.

This thesis is dealing with application of Correlative Probe and Electron Microscopy. All measurements were carried out by atomic force microscope LiteScope which is designed especially to be combined with electron microscopes. Advantages of Correlative AFM/SEM Microscopy are demonstrated on selected samples from field of nanotechnology and material science. Application of the correlative imaging was proposed and then realized particularly in case of low-dimensional structures and thin films. Further, this thesis deals with the possibility of combining Correlative AFM/SEM Microscopy with other integrated techniques of an electron microscope such as Focused Ion Beam and Energy Dispersive X-rays Spectroscopy.

This dissertation is devoted to the development of novel devices for optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications using the promise of inkjet printing with two-dimensional (2D) materials. A systematic approach toward the characterization of the liquid exfoliated 2D inks comprising of graphene, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), tungsten diselenide (WSe2), and 2D perovskites is discussed at depth. In the first study, the biocompatibility of 2D materials -- graphene and MoS2 -- that were drop cast onto flexible PET and polyimide substrates using mouse embryonic fibroblast (STO) and human esophageal fibroblast (HEF) cell lines, was explored. The polyimide samples for both STO and HEF showed high biocompatibility with a cell survival rate of up to ~ 98% and a confluence rate of 70-98%. An inkjet printed, biocompatible, heterostructure photodetector was constructed using inks of photo-active MoS2 and electrically conducting graphene, which facilitated charge collection of the photocarriers. The importance of such devices stems from their potential utility in age-related-macular degeneration (AMD), which is a condition where the photosensitive retinal tissue degrades with aging, eventually compromising vision. The biocompatible inkjet printed 2D heterojunction devices were photoresponsive to broadband incoming radiation in the visible regime, and the photocurrent scaled proportionally with the incident light intensity, exhibiting a photoresponsivity R ~ 0.30 A/W. Strain-dependent measurements were also conducted with bending, that showed Iph ~ 1.16 µA with strain levels for curvature up to ~ 0.262 cm-1, indicating the feasibility of such devices for large format arrays printed on flexible substrates. Alongside the optoelectronic measurements, temperature-dependent (~ 80 K to 573 K) frequency shifts of the Raman-active E12g and A1g modes of multilayer MoS2 exhibited a red-shift with increasing temperature, where the temperature coefficients for the E12g and A1g modes were determined to be ~ - 0.016 cm-1/K and ~ - 0.014 cm-1/K, respectively. The phonon lifetime τ was determined to be in the picosecond range for the E12g and A1g modes, respectively, for the liquid exfoliated multilayer MoS2. Secondly, an all inkjet printed WSe2-graphene hetero-structure photodetector on flexible polyimide substrates is also studied, where the device performance was found to be superior compared to the MoS2-graphene photodetector. The printed photodetector was photo responsive to broadband incoming radiation in the visible regime, where the photo responsivity R ~ 0.7 A/W and conductivity σ ~ 2.3 × 10-1 S/m were achieved at room temperature. Thirdly, the synthesis of solution-processed 2D layered organo-halide (CH3(CH2)3NH3)2(CH3NH3)n-1PbnI3n+1 (n = 2, 3, and 4) perovskites is presented here, where inkjet printing was used to fabricate heterostructure flexible photodetector devices on polyimide substrates. The ON/OFF ratio was determined to be high, ~ 2.3 × 103 while the photoresponse time on the rising and falling edges was measured to be rise ~ 24 ms and fall ~ 65 ms, respectively. The strain-dependent measurements, conducted here for the first time for inkjet printed perovskite photodetectors, revealed the Ip decreased by only ~ 27% with bending (radius of curvature of ~ 0.262 cm-1). This work demonstrates the tremendous potential of the inkjet printed, composition tunable, organo-halide 2D perovskite heterostructures for high-performance photodetectors, where the techniques are readily translatable toward flexible solar cell platforms as well. Fourthly, metal contacts and carrier transport in 2D (CH3(CH2)3NH3)2(CH3NH3)n-1PbnI3n+1 (n = 4) perovskites is a critical topic, where the use of silver (Ag) and graphene (Gr) inks as metallic contacts to 2D perovskites was investigated. The all inkjet printed Gr-perovskite and Ag-perovskite photodetectors were found to be photo-responsive to broadband incoming radiation where measurements were conducted from λ ~ 400 nm to 2300 nm. The photoresponsivity R and detectivity D were compared between the Gr-perovskite and Ag-perovskite photodetectors, which revealed the higher performance for the Ag-perovskite photodetector. The superior performance of the Ag-perovskite photodetector was also justified with the Schottky barrier analysis using the thermionic emission model through temperature-dependent transport measurements. Finally, this dissertation ends with the description of the first steps for using solution-processed, inkjet printed perovskites for solar cells. The preliminary investigations include the discussion of the chemical formulations for the carrier separation layers, dispersion route, and the variation of solar cell figures of merit with processing.

The first-principles density functional theory (DFT) was implemented to investigate the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of vanadium (V) substituted and chalcogen (Se) vacancies in tungsten diselenide (WSe 2 ) monolayer, novel two dimensional (2D) monolayer (ML) structures in binary compounds ZnX (X= As, Sb, and Bi), and novel 2D electrides on transition metal-rich mono-oxide or chalcogenides, based on Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) exchange functional employed in Vienna Ab-Initio Simulation Packages (VASP). The inherent defect in 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) contains unavoidable substitutional defects and a certain amount of chalcogen vacancies. This type of defect affects the electronic and magnetic properties of 2D-TMDCs. To account for this fact, we demonstrated using DFT that the V-doped WSe 2 monolayer exhibits long-range ferromagnetic order. Further, the chalcogenide (Se) vacancies clustered around V-atom enhance the ferromagnetic properties of the system consistent with experimental findings. This dissertation explores the important role of Se-vacancies in the magnetic properties of the V-doped WSe 2 monolayer and proposes a method to enhance the magnetic properties of such 2D non-magnetic van der Waal (vdW) materials. In the second study, we have attempted theoretically to engineer the monolayer structure in II-V binary compounds ZnX with orthorhombic symmetry. We proved the dynamical stability of the bulk and ML structures manifested by the absence of imaginary frequencies in phonon dispersion curves. Our calculations on the density of states (DOS), and band structures using GGA indicate the increasing value of bandgap as well as the transition from indirect to direct bandgap while going from bulk to monolayer structure of ZnX. Our theoretical calculations will represent an archetype of novel 2D semiconductors on ZnX. Next, we have tailored using DFT, the structural and electronic properties of the 2D electrides that belong to transition metal-rich mono-oxide and chalcogenides with hexagonal (Hf 2 X; X = O, S, Se, Te), and orthorhombic (Ti2S and Zr2S) symmetry thereby introducing novel electrides to the electride family. The Bader charge analysis, electron localization function (ELF), projected DOS, and the calculated value of low work functions provides sufficient theoretical shreds of evidence to prove these materials as electrides.

The thesis deals with study of thin layers of transition metal dichalcogenides, especially of molybdenum disulfide. Nanostructures were fabricated on two-dimensional crystals of MoS2 and WSe2. Within followed analysis attention was paid to the photoluminescence properties. In the thesis transition metal dichalcogenides are reviewed and description of the modified process of preparation by micromechanical exfoliation is given.