Multifarious Interfaces, Band Alignments, and Formation Asymmetry of WSe2−MoSe2 Heterojunction Grown by Molecular-Beam Epitaxy

Abstract

Monolayer (ML) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) continue to attract research attention, and the heterojunctions formed by vertically stacking or laterally stitching two different TMDs, e.g., MoSe2 and WSe2, may have many interesting electronic and optical properties and thus are at the center stage of current research. Experimentally realizing such heterojunctions with desired interface morphologies and electronic properties is of great demand. In this work, we report a diverse interface structure in molecular-beam epitaxial WSe2–MoSe2 heterojunction. The corresponding electronic bands show type-II band alignment for both monolayer ML−ML and ML–bilayer lateral junctions irrespective of the presence or absence of step states. Interestingly, a strong anisotropy in lateral heterojunction formation is observed, where sharp interfaces are obtained only when WSe2 deposition precedes MoSe2. Reversing the deposition order leads to alloying of the two materials without a notable boundary. This is explained by a step segregation process as suggested by the first-principles total energy calculations.