Electric-Field Screening in Atomically Thin Layers of MoS2: the Role of Interlayer Coupling

The electrostatic screening in single and few-layer MoS2 sheets is studied. Electrostatic force microscopy is used to probe the electric field generated by charge impurities in the substrate and incompletely screened by MoS2 sheets. A non-linear Thomas-Fermi theory is employed to interpret the experimental results, demonstrating the important role of the interlayer coupling in the screening of MoS2.