Extreme-ultraviolet optical response of atomically thin molybdenum disulfide

We report multiangle reflectivity measurements in the extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) range for mono- and bilayer MoS2 on a Si3N4 substrate. Using a single-sheet 2D conductivity model, we extract the complex optical response of the MoS2 bilayer between 25 and 90 eV and derive an effective refractive index by introducing a thickness equal to the interlayer spacing. The MoS2 monolayer response is consistently reproduced either by halving the 2D conductivity or the effective thickness, indicating a robust scaling with layer number. Conversely from what was previously observed around the energy gap, the resulting optical constants display a broad resonance at the Mo N2,3 edge with no clear core-exciton peaks below the absorption edge despite the reduced dimensionality. First-principles calculations reproduce the experimental results and show that local-field (Hartree) effects dominate the XUV response, while screened-exchange (SEX) contributions remain weak and mainly induce spectral shifts. Our analysis demonstrates that excitonic effects play a minor role in the XUV optical response of atomically thin MoS2, highlighting key differences with respect to the visible and infrared regimes, and calling for a reassessment of the use of Mo-based transition metal dichalcogenides in attosecond spectroscopy and XUV excitonics.