Effect of substrate temperature on properties of WS2 thin films

Abstract The WS2 thin films were deposited on glass substrates with RF magnetron sputtering using a WS2 target to study the effect of substrate temperature (25, 100, 200, and 300 °C) on their properties. In this study, we investigated the morphological, structural, and optical characteristics of the...

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Main Authors: Monireh Jafari, Mohammad Mahdi Shahidi, Mohammad Hossein Ehsani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08916-0
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author Monireh Jafari
Mohammad Mahdi Shahidi
Mohammad Hossein Ehsani
author_facet Monireh Jafari
Mohammad Mahdi Shahidi
Mohammad Hossein Ehsani
author_sort Monireh Jafari
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The WS2 thin films were deposited on glass substrates with RF magnetron sputtering using a WS2 target to study the effect of substrate temperature (25, 100, 200, and 300 °C) on their properties. In this study, we investigated the morphological, structural, and optical characteristics of the films. FESEM images show that all the samples consist of nanoparticles, with the exception of the film deposited at 200 °C, which uniquely exhibited a nanosheet morphology. The AFM spectrum of the samples determined that the sample with a substrate temperature of 200 °C had the highest roughness, which confirms the results obtained from the FESEM images of the samples. The XRD patterns of all the thin films showed the preferred orientation (104) related to the WS2 phase, and among the samples, the film deposited at 200 °C exhibited the largest crystallite size and the lowest strains. Also, no additional peak related to the oxide phase was observed in XRD and Raman spectra. The band gap of the 200 °C sample was lower than the other samples, and because it has a larger crystal size, this can be caused by quantum confinement. At 200 °C, the resistivity reached its highest value, accompanied by a significant decrease in carrier mobility and concentration, likely due to structural disorder and increased porosity in this sample.
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spelling doaj-art-c3c64dd0d05548e1b7814481a0a4aa432025-08-20T04:01:24ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-08916-0Effect of substrate temperature on properties of WS2 thin filmsMonireh Jafari0Mohammad Mahdi Shahidi1Mohammad Hossein Ehsani2Faculty of Physics, Semnan UniversityUNESCO-UNISA-ITL/NRF Africa Chair in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (U2ACN2), College of Graduate Studies, University of South Africa (UNISA)Faculty of Physics, Semnan UniversityAbstract The WS2 thin films were deposited on glass substrates with RF magnetron sputtering using a WS2 target to study the effect of substrate temperature (25, 100, 200, and 300 °C) on their properties. In this study, we investigated the morphological, structural, and optical characteristics of the films. FESEM images show that all the samples consist of nanoparticles, with the exception of the film deposited at 200 °C, which uniquely exhibited a nanosheet morphology. The AFM spectrum of the samples determined that the sample with a substrate temperature of 200 °C had the highest roughness, which confirms the results obtained from the FESEM images of the samples. The XRD patterns of all the thin films showed the preferred orientation (104) related to the WS2 phase, and among the samples, the film deposited at 200 °C exhibited the largest crystallite size and the lowest strains. Also, no additional peak related to the oxide phase was observed in XRD and Raman spectra. The band gap of the 200 °C sample was lower than the other samples, and because it has a larger crystal size, this can be caused by quantum confinement. At 200 °C, the resistivity reached its highest value, accompanied by a significant decrease in carrier mobility and concentration, likely due to structural disorder and increased porosity in this sample.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08916-0WS2Thin filmSputteringSubstrate temperature
spellingShingle Monireh Jafari
Mohammad Mahdi Shahidi
Mohammad Hossein Ehsani
Effect of substrate temperature on properties of WS2 thin films
Scientific Reports
WS2
Thin film
Sputtering
Substrate temperature
title Effect of substrate temperature on properties of WS2 thin films
title_full Effect of substrate temperature on properties of WS2 thin films
title_fullStr Effect of substrate temperature on properties of WS2 thin films
title_full_unstemmed Effect of substrate temperature on properties of WS2 thin films
title_short Effect of substrate temperature on properties of WS2 thin films
title_sort effect of substrate temperature on properties of ws2 thin films
topic WS2
Thin film
Sputtering
Substrate temperature
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08916-0
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