No Arabic abstract
The properties of metal-semiconductor junctions are often unpredictable because of non-ideal interfacial structures, such as interfacial defects or chemical reactions introduced at junctions. Black phosphorus (BP), an elemental two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting crystal, possesses the puckered atomic structure with high chemical reactivity, and the establishment of a realistic atomic-scale picture of BPs interface toward metallic contact has remained elusive. Here we examine the interfacial structures and properties of physically-deposited metals of various kinds on BP. We find that Au, Ag, and Bi form single-crystalline films with (110) orientation through guided van der Waals epitaxy. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirm that atomically sharp van der Waals metal-BP interfaces forms with exceptional rotational alignment. Under a weak metal-BP interaction regime, the BPs puckered structure play an essential role in the adatom assembly process and can lead to the formation of a single crystal, which is supported by our theoretical analysis and calculations. The experimental survey also demonstrates that the BP-metal junctions can exhibit various types of interfacial structures depending on metals, such as the formation of polycrystalline microstructure or metal phosphides. This study provides a guideline for obtaining a realistic view on metal-2D semiconductor interfacial structures, especially for atomically puckered 2D crystals.
The electrical detection of the surface states of topological insulators is strongly impeded by the interference of bulk conduction, which commonly arises due to pronounced doping associated with the formation of lattice defects. As exemplified by the topological insulator Bi2Te2Se, we show that via van der Waals epitaxial growth on thin hBN substrates the structural quality of such nanoplatelets can be substantially improved. The surface state carrier mobility of nanoplatelets on hBN is increased by a factor of about 3 compared to platelets on conventional Si/SiOx substrates, which enables the observation of well-developed Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. We furthermore demonstrate the possibility to effectively tune the Fermi level position in the films with the aid of a back gate.
Research on two-dimensional materials has expanded over the past two decades to become a central theme in condensed matter research today. Significant advances have been made in the synthesis and subsequent reassembly of these materials using mechanical methods into a vast array of hybrid structures with novel properties and ever-increasing potential applications. The key hurdles in realizing this potential are the challenges in controlling the atomic structure of these layered hybrid materials and the difficulties in harnessing their unique functionality with existing semiconductor nanofabrication techniques. Here we report on high-quality van der Waals epitaxial growth and characterization of a layered topological insulator on freestanding monolayer graphene transferred to different mechanical supports. This templated synthesis approach enables direct interrogation of interfacial atomic structure of these as-grown hybrid structures and opens a route towards creating device structures with more traditional semiconductor nanofabrication techniques.
We report on the preparation of flexible polymer composite films with aligned metallic fillers comprised of atomic chain bundles of the quasi-one-dimensional (1D) van der Waals material tantalum triselenide, TaSe3. The material functionality, embedded at the nanoscale level, is achieved by mimicking the design of an electromagnetic aperture grid antenna. The processed composites employ chemically exfoliated TaSe3 nanowires as the grid building blocks incorporated within the thin film. Filler alignment is achieved using the blade coating method. Measurements conducted in the X-band frequency range demonstrate that the electromagnetic transmission through such films can be varied significantly by changing the relative orientations of the quasi-1D fillers and the polarization of the electromagnetic wave. We argue that such polarization-sensitive polymer films with quasi-1D fillers are applicable to advanced electromagnetic interference shielding in future communication systems.
The exfoliation of two naturally occurring van der Waals minerals, graphite and molybdenite, arouse an unprecedented level of interest by the scientific community and shaped a whole new field of research: 2D materials research. Several years later, the family of van der Waals materials that can be exfoliated to isolate 2D materials keeps growing, but most of them are synthetic. Interestingly, in nature plenty of naturally occurring van der Waals minerals can be found with a wide range of chemical compositions and crystal structures whose properties are mostly unexplored so far. This Perspective aims to provide an overview of different families of van der Waals minerals to stimulate their exploration in the 2D limit.
The structural and elastic properties of orthorhombic black phosphorus have been investigated using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. The structural parameters have been calculated using the local density approximation (LDA), the generalized gradient approximation (GGA), and with several dispersion corrections to include van der Waals interactions. It is found that the dispersion corrections improve the lattice parameters over LDA and GGA in comparison with experimental results. The calculations reproduce well the experimental trends under pressure and show that van der Waals interactions are most important for the crystallographic b-axis, in the sense that they have the largest effect on the bonding between the phosphorus layers. The elastic constants are calculated and are found to be in good agreement with experimental values. The calculated C$_{22}$ elastic constant is significantly larger than the C$_{11}$ and C$_{33}$ parameters, implying that black phosphorus is stiffer against strain along the a-axis than along the b- and c-axes. From the calculated elastic constants,the mechanical properties such as bulk modulus, shear modulus, Youngs modulus and Poissons ratio are obtained. The calculated Raman active optical phonon frequencies and their pressure variations are in excellent agreement with available experimental results.