Electronic structure of Ar+ ion-sputtered thin-film MoS2: A XPS and IPES study

Polycrystalline MoS2 grown by Mo sulphurization was exposed to increasing doses of Ar+ ions at 250 eV starting from 2.2 × 1015 ions/cm2 to 3.92 × 1017 ions/cm2. Electronic structure changes were monitored by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Inverse Photolectron Spectroscopy (IPES). No change in the Fermi level position was observed with Ar+ dosing. Ion bombardment resulted in a new visible feature at lower binding energy in the Mo3d core level, while the S2p lineshape showed little changes. The formation of a steady state from 2.49 × 1017 ions/cm2 has been detected. The investigation of the occupied and unoccupied states on the steady-state surface pointed to the simultaneous presence of metallic-like Mo with amorphous MoS2-x.