SNM: Scalable Nanomanufacturing of 2D Electronic Materials and Devices Using Automated Exfoliation

对二维（2D）材料（一个原子层厚的材料）性质的研究揭示了真正非凡的行为，原则上，这使得下一代电子和光学器件的开发成为可能。例如，一些2D材料的柔性、强度和光电特性使它们成为柔性电子产品（例如显示器）应用的理想候选者。然而，这些材料的技术影响尚未完全实现，因为这些设备无法大规模制造。 此外，用于在实验室中创建基于2D电子材料的设备的步骤是低效且不可靠的，并且导致工作设备的产量非常低。可扩展纳米制造（SNM）奖旨在开发一种经济，可扩展，高产的方法来生产基于2D电子材料的光电器件。 这种高度跨学科的研究依赖于几个科学和工程学科，包括纳米制造，电气工程，材料科学和计算，以开发和优化制造过程。 该研究将在一个高度合作和跨学科的研究环境中让许多背景和经验各异的年轻学者沉浸其中。从2D电子材料制造器件的实验室过程使用“胶带”作为从大块晶体剥离单层样品并将其转移到其他基底的手段。通常，第一剥离层由所需材料的多个2D层组成，需要重复胶带剥离以产生材料的单个单层。这个艰苦的过程是不可扩展的，并且通常产生的样品太小而无法制造设备。 最近，研究小组发现，共价或半共价键合到晶体表面层的薄金属膜可用作改进的胶带。薄膜的特性使得能够在第一剥离步骤期间隔离横向尺寸高达0.5mm的单层样品。这一发现为开发可扩展的纳米制造方法以制造由2D电子材料构建的设备打开了大门。通过理论和实验的结合，该奖项将确定用于原型2D材料剥离的金属薄膜的选择。使用这些薄膜，该项目将开发一种高度复用的弹性体冲压方法，以自动化剥离过程，并展示基于2D电子材料的设备的可扩展制造，用于从光电设备到化学传感器的应用，以及作为其他材料外延生长的顺应性衬底。

The investigation of the properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials - materials that are one atomic layer thick - has revealed truly remarkable behavior that, in principle, enable the development of the next generation of electronic and optical devices. For example, the flexibility, strength and opto-electronic properties of some 2D materials make them ideal candidates for applications in flexible electronics (e.g. displays). However, the technological impact of these materials has not been fully realized because these devices cannot be manufactured at scale. Moreover, the steps used to create 2D electronic materials-based devices in the laboratory are inefficient and unreliable, and result in a very low yield of working devices. This Scalable NanoManufacturing (SNM) award is aimed at developing an economical, scalable, high-yield approach to the production of opto-electronic devices based on 2D electronic materials. This highly interdisciplinary research relies on several science and engineering disciplines including nanomanufacturing, electrical engineering, materials science and computation to develop and optimize the manufacturing process. The research will immerse a number of young scholars diverse in both background and experience within a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment.The laboratory process for creating devices from 2D electronic materials employs "sticky tape" as a means for exfoliating single layered samples from bulk crystals and transferring them to other substrates. Typically, the first exfoliated layer consists of multiple 2D layers of the desired material requiring repeated sticky tape exfoliation to produce a single monolayer of the material. This painstaking process is not scalable and often yields a sample too small to enable the manufacturing of devices. Recently, the research team has discovered that thin metallic films covalently or semi-covalently bonded to the surface layer of a crystal can be used as an improved sticky tape. The properties of the thin films enable isolation of monolayer samples up to 0.5 mm in lateral dimensions during the first exfoliation step. This discovery opens the door to development of a scalable nanomanufacturing approach to the fabrication of devices built from 2D electronic materials. Using a combination of theory and experiment, this award will determine the choice of metal films for exfoliation of prototypical 2D materials. Using these films, the project will develop a highly multiplexed elastomer stamping approach to automate the exfoliation process and to demonstrate the scalable fabrication of 2D electronic materials-based devices for applications ranging from opto-electronic devices to chemical sensors, and as compliant substrates for the epitaxial growth of other materials.