Figure 1.

Strategy for defect-engineering. (a) Schematic illustration of the 2H-MoTe₂ ML sample prepared by mechanical exfoliation (top) and then transferred onto a TEM grid (bottom). (b) Wide-view HAADF-STEM image of the pristine 2H-MoTe₂ ML. The bright (dark) contrast regions denote Te₂- (Mo) atomic columns. (i, ii) Enlarged HAADF-STEM micrographs in (b), revealing perfect and defective (V_Te1/red arrow) lattices, respectively. Scale bars: 0.2 nm. (iii) Intensity profiles for Perfect (open green squares) and V_Te1 (open red squares) regions extracted along the color-dotted diagonal rectangles in (i) and (ii), respectively. (c) Defect modulation of 2H-MoTe₂ MLs; (left) vacuum-annealing, (middle) pristine, and (right) laser-illumination. Mo, green sphere; Te, yellow sphere; O, red sphere; V_Te, green dotted circle; and V_Mo, and yellow dotted circle.