Effects of nitrogen plasma treatment on the electrical property and band structure of few-layer MoS₂

Few-layer MoS₂ prepared by the chemical vapor deposition method was treated with nitrogen plasma under different radio-frequency (rf) power conditions in order to experimentally study the change in the electrical property. Control of the rf power could change the work function of MoS₂ from 5.40 eV to 5.06 eV. It is shown that the increased rf power leads to the increased (reduced) number of nitrogen (oxygen) atoms, increasing the electron concentration and shifting the Fermi level toward conduction band. The sensitivity of the work function to the rf power provides an opportunity to tune the work function of MoS₂.