Substrate-dependent pore formation in molybdenum disulfide monolayers under ion irradiation

Author(s)
Yossarian Liebsch, Umair Javed, Lucia Skopinski, Leon Daniel, Franziska Appel, Radia Rahali, Clara Grygiel, Henning Lebius, Carolin Frank, Lars Breuer, Leon Kirsch, Frieder Koch, Jani Kotakoski, Marika Schleberger
Abstract

Ion irradiation is a versatile tool for nanostructuring surfaces, yet the roles of energy deposition and dissipation at the surface and in ultrathin materials remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigate nanopore formation in monolayer MoS

2 on different substrates under irradiation of highly charged ions (HCIs) and swift heavy ions (SHIs) – two types of ions that, despite having vastly different kinetic energies, both interact primarily with the electronic system of the target. Using scanning transmission electron microscopy, we quantify pore radii and pore formation efficiencies for suspended MoS

2, MoS

2 on SiO

2, bilayer MoS

2, and MoS

2 on gold. Both pore size and pore formation efficiency exhibit a pronounced dependence on the type of substrate. Pores are largest and most frequent in MoS

2 on SiO

2, while the gold substrate massively quenches pore formation. The observed pore dimensions under both HCI and SHI irradiation conclusively demonstrate the central role of substrate and interface-dependent electronic dissipation pathways regarding damage under these types of ion irradiation.

Organisation(s)
Physics of Nanostructured Materials
External organisation(s)
Universität Duisburg-Essen, GANIL: Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds, Uppsala University, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung
Journal
Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology
Volume
17
Pages
769-780
No. of pages
12
ISSN
2190-4286
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.17.54
Publication date
06-2026
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103042 Electron microscopy, 210004 Nanomaterials
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
General Materials Science, General Physics and Astronomy, Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/365afbc9-c8e1-4ae9-bb3f-f52313669739