Exfoliation of 2D van der Waals crystals in ultrahigh vacuum for interface engineering

Zhenyu Sun, Xu Han, Zhihao Cai, Shaosheng Yue, Daiyu Geng, Dongke Rong, Lin Zhao, Yi Qi Zhang, Peng Cheng, Lan Chen, Xingjiang Zhou, Yuan Huang*, Kehui Wu, Baojie Feng

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) materials and their heterostructures have been intensively studied in recent years due to their potential applications in electronic, optoelectronic, and spintronic devices. Nonetheless, the realization of 2D heterostructures with atomically flat and clean interfaces remains challenging, especially for air-sensitive materials, which hinders the in-depth investigation of interface-induced phenomena and the fabrication of high-quality devices. Here, we circumvented this challenge by exfoliating 2D materials in an ultrahigh vacuum. Remarkably, ultraflat and clean substrate surfaces can assist the exfoliation of 2D materials, regardless of the substrate and 2D material, thus providing a universal method for the preparation of heterostructures with ideal interfaces. In addition, we studied the properties of two prototypical systems that cannot be achieved previously, including the electronic structure of monolayer phospherene and optical responses of transition metal dichalcogenides on different metal substrates. Our work paves the way to engineer rich interface-induced phenomena, such as proximity effects and moiré superlattices.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1345-1351
Number of pages7
JournalScience Bulletin
Volume67
Issue number13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jul 2022

Keywords

  • 2D van der Waals crystals
  • Interface engineering
  • Mechanical exfoliation
  • Ultrahigh vacuum
  • Universal method

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Exfoliation of 2D van der Waals crystals in ultrahigh vacuum for interface engineering'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this