Transition-metal dichalcogenide layered materials, consisting of a transition-metal atomic layer sandwiched by two chalcogen atomic layers, have been attracting considerable attention because of their desirable physical properties for semiconductor devices, and a wide variety of pn junctions, which are essential building blocks for electronic and optoelectronic devices, have been realized using these atomically thin structures. Engineering the electronic/optical properties of semiconductors by using such heterojunctions has been a central concept in semiconductor science and technology. Here, we report the first scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) study on the electronic structures of a monolayer WS2/Mo1−xWxS2 heterojunction that provides a tunable band alignment. The atomically modulated spatial variation in such electronic structures, i.e., a microscopic basis for the band structure of a WS2/Mo1−xWxS2 heterojunction, was directly observed. The macroscopic band structure of Mo1−xWxS2 alloy was well reproduced by the STS spectra averaged over the surface. An electric field of as high as 80 × 106 Vm−1 was observed at the interface for the alloy with x = 0.3, verifying the efficient separation of photoexcited carriers at the interface.

Semiconductor heterojunction interfaces have been an important topic, both in modern solid state physics and in electronics and optoelectronics applications. Recently, the heterojunctions of atomically-thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are expected to realize one-dimensional (1D) electronic systems at their heterointerfaces due to their tunable electronic properties. Herein, we report unique conductivity enhancement and electrical potential modulation of heterojunction interfaces based on TMDC bilayers consisted of MoS2 and WS2. Scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy analyses showed the formation of 1D confining potential (potential barrier) in the valence (conduction) band, as well as bandgap narrowing around the heterointerface. The modulation of electronic properties were also probed as the increase of current in conducting atomic force microscopy. Notably, the observed band bending can be explained by the presence of 1D fixed charges around the heterointerface. The present findings indicate that the atomic layer heterojunctions provide a novel approach to realizing tunable 1D electrical potential for embedded quantum wires and ultrashort barriers of electrical transport.

MoS2 embedded nanowires formed in a transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) layered semiconductor of Mo1−xWxS2 alloy grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on graphite were observed for the first time. Three nanowires radiated outward from the center of each triangular Mo1−xWxS2 island to its three corners, suggesting that they were formed during the growth process. The bandgap energy in the wires was 2.38 eV, 0.03 eV narrower than the average bandgap energy in the region surrounding the nanowire. The observed results suggest the possibility of designing embedded nanostructures in a TMDC by controlling the growth conditions, which should lead to further advances in TMDC materials for the development of new types of devices.