Laser Thinning and Patterning of MoS₂ with Layer-by-Layer Precision

The recently discovered novel properties of two dimensional materials largely rely on the layercritical variation in their electronic structure and lattice symmetry. Achieving layer-by-layer precision patterning is thus crucial for junction fabrications and device engineering, which hitherto poses an unprecedented challenge. Here we demonstrate laser thinning and patterning with layer-by-layer precision in a two dimensional (2D) quantum material MoS2. Monolayer, bilayer and trilayer of MoS₂ films are produced with precise vertical and lateral control, which removes the extruding barrier for fabricating novel three dimensional (3D) devices composed of diverse layers and patterns. By tuning the laser fluence and exposure time we demonstrate producing MoS₂ patterns with designed layer
numbers. The underlying physics mechanism is identified to be temperature-dependent evaporation of the MoS₂ lattice, verified by our measurements and calculations. Our investigation paves way for 3D device fabrication based on 2D layered quantum materials.