Engineering Optical and Electronic Properties of WS₂ by Varying the Number of Layers

The optical constants, bandgaps, and band alignments of mono-, bi-, and trilayer WS₂ were experimentally measured, and an extraordinarily high dependency on the number of layers was revealed. The refractive indices and extinction coefficients were extracted from the optical-contrast oscillation for various thicknesses of SiO₂ on a Si substrate. The bandgaps of the few-layer WS₂ were both optically and electrically measured, indicating high exciton-binding energies. The Schottky-barrier heights (SBHs) with Au/Cr contact were also extracted, depending on the number of layers (1-28). From an engineering viewpoint, the bandgap can be modulated from 3.49 to 2.71 eV with additional layers. The SBH can also be reduced from 0.37 eV for a monolayer to 0.17 eV for 28 layers. The technique of engineering materials properties by modulating the number of layers opens pathways uniquely adaptable to transition-metal dichalcogenides.