Effect of manganese incorporation on the excitonic recombination dynamics in monolayer MoS$_2$

Abstract: Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy techniques we investigate the incorporation of Manganese (Mn) in monolayer (1L)-MoS$_2$ grown on sapphire substrates by microcavity based chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. These layers are coated with different amount of Mn by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique and temperature dependent photo-luminescence (PL) spectroscopic study has helped us in understanding how such deposition affects the dynamics of excitonic recombination in this system. The study further reveals two distinctly different Mn-incorporation regimes. Below a certain critical deposition amount of Mn, thin Mn-coating with large area coverage is found on MoS$_2$ layers and in this regime, substitution of Mo ions by Mn is detected through XPS. Dewetting takes place when Mn-deposition crosses the critical mark, which results in the formation of Mn-droplets on MoS$_2$ layers. In this regime, substitutional incorporation of Mn is suppressed, while the Raman study suggests an enhancement of disorder in the lattice with the Mn-deposition time. From PL investigation, it has been found that the increase of the amount of Mn-deposition not only enhances the density of non-radiative recombination channels for the excitons but also raises the barrier height for such recombination to take place. The study attributes these non-radiative transitions to certain Mo related defects (either Mo-vacancies or distorted Mo-S bonds), which are believed to be generated in large numbers during Mn-droplet formation stage as a result of the withdrawal of Mn ions from the Mo-substitutional sites.