Growth and structure of singly oriented single-layer tungsten disulfide on Au(111)

Single-layer transition-metal dichalcogenides belong to a class of materials that could be used for the implementation of devices exploiting the spin and valley degrees of freedom. However, this feature can be accessed only if the single layers have a single orientation. In this paper, the authors show that the WS₂ single layer can be grown on Au(111) with a single orientation and a high degree of ordering. The work presents a comprehensive study of the atomic structure of the interface, revealing information about the morphology, orientation, and atomic arrangement of the WS₂ single layer with respect to the Au(111) substrate.