Highly Anisotropic Mechanical and Optical Properties of 2D Layered As(2)S(3) Membranes

[Image: see text] Two-dimensional (2D) materials with strong in-plane anisotropy are of interest for enabling orientation-dependent, frequency-tunable, optomechanical devices. However, black phosphorus (bP), the 2D material with the largest anisotropy to date, is unstable as it degrades in air. In this work we show that As(2)S(3) is an interesting alternative, with a similar anisotropy to bP, while at the same time having a much higher chemical stability. We probe the mechanical and optical anisotropy in As(2)S(3) by three distinct angular-resolved experimental methods: Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and resonance frequency analysis. Using a dedicated angle-resolved AFM force-deflection method, an in-plane anisotropy factor of [Image: see text] is found in the Young’s modulus of As(2)S(3) with E(a-axis) = 79.1 ± 10.1 GPa and E(c-axis) = 47.2 ± 7.9 GPa. The high mechanical anisotropy is also shown to cause up to 65% difference in the resonance frequency, depending on crystal orientation and aspect ratio of membranes.