Raman spectroscopy of the interlayer shear mode in few-layer MoS2 flakes

Single- and few-layer MoS2 has recently gained attention as an interesting material system for opto-electronics. Here, we report on scanning Raman measurements on few-layer MoS2 flakes prepared by exfoliation. We observe a Raman mode corresponding to a rigid shearing oscillation of adjacent layers. This mode appears at very low Raman shifts between 20 and 30 cm−1. Its position strongly depends on the number of layers, which we independently determine using atomic force microscopy and investigation of the other characteristic Raman modes. Raman spectroscopy of the shear mode, therefore, is a useful tool to determine the number of layers for few-layer MoS2 flakes.