Effect of Ar-ion irradiation on electrical transport of WS₂ monolayer

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D-TMDs), such as WS 2 and MoS 2 , have attracted exceptional attention as promising materials for future optoelectronic systems due to their unique properties, including a direct band gap, high quantum efficiency, and flexibility. However, exploiting these materials’ potential in their pristine state remains a key challenge because of limited tunability and control over their properties. The introduction of crystal defects, such as vacancies and dopants, induces localized mid-gap states in 2D materials, enhances electrical transport, and creates a platform for tuning and exploiting these materials for practical applications. Our study explores the effect of Ar-ion beam irradiation on monolayer WS 2 , resulting in enhanced electrical transport compared to the pristine sample. We regulated the Ar-ion bombardment energy to vary the defect concentration from 0.1 to 0.5 keV. Photoluminescence (PL) and Raman investigations, revealed the extent of damage to the material. At the same time, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed changes in the oxidation state with increasing irradiation energy. Our results demonstrated that Ar-ion treatment at low-energy irradiation enhanced electrical transport by ∼12 fold compared to pristine till 0.2 keV of irradiation by incorporating defects. However, higher irradiation energies reduced electrical transport due to increased disorder in the WS 2 monolayer. This investigation highlights the potential for controlled defect engineering to optimize the properties of 2D-TMDs for practical applications.