Defect-modified acoustic phonons in a single layer of MoS2

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Radic, Aleksandar, Liu, Boyao, Rao, Akshay, Lambrick, Sam
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Radic, Aleksandar
Liu, Boyao
Rao, Akshay
Lambrick, Sam
author_facet Radic, Aleksandar
Liu, Boyao
Rao, Akshay
Lambrick, Sam
contents The thermal, mechanical, and electronic performance of atomically thin semiconductors is governed by their low-energy phonons, yet the impact of atomic-scale disorder on these modes remains poorly understood. Here, we report the first measurement of acoustic phonon dispersions in a quasi-freestanding monolayer semiconductor (MoS2), using helium-3 spin-echo spectroscopy. We identify a defect-driven regime change at a critical wavevector, $q_c$, marking the breakdown of continuum elastic behavior. At this length scale, the flexural mode transitions from continuum bending to defect-pinned standing waves, while the hybridized Rayleigh wave becomes vibrationally disordered in its dispersion and linewidth. We observe multiple defect-induced Van Hove singularities deep within the Brillouin zone and strongly suppressed acoustic group velocities, providing direct experimental evidence that four-phonon processes drive thermal transport in mono- and few-layer MoS2. These results offer a microscopic explanation for the anomalously low thermal conductivity widely observed in transition-metal dichalcogenides and demonstrate how atomic-scale disorder dictates energy flow in two-dimensional materials.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_14464
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Defect-modified acoustic phonons in a single layer of MoS2
Radic, Aleksandar
Liu, Boyao
Rao, Akshay
Lambrick, Sam
Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
The thermal, mechanical, and electronic performance of atomically thin semiconductors is governed by their low-energy phonons, yet the impact of atomic-scale disorder on these modes remains poorly understood. Here, we report the first measurement of acoustic phonon dispersions in a quasi-freestanding monolayer semiconductor (MoS2), using helium-3 spin-echo spectroscopy. We identify a defect-driven regime change at a critical wavevector, $q_c$, marking the breakdown of continuum elastic behavior. At this length scale, the flexural mode transitions from continuum bending to defect-pinned standing waves, while the hybridized Rayleigh wave becomes vibrationally disordered in its dispersion and linewidth. We observe multiple defect-induced Van Hove singularities deep within the Brillouin zone and strongly suppressed acoustic group velocities, providing direct experimental evidence that four-phonon processes drive thermal transport in mono- and few-layer MoS2. These results offer a microscopic explanation for the anomalously low thermal conductivity widely observed in transition-metal dichalcogenides and demonstrate how atomic-scale disorder dictates energy flow in two-dimensional materials.
title Defect-modified acoustic phonons in a single layer of MoS2
topic Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.14464