Abstract
Two-dimensional (2D) materials are attracting increasing research interest owing to their distinct tunable physical properties. Moreover, the ubiquitous defects in 2D materials offer an opportunity to tailor their electronic properties. Recently, atomic-level structural modification methods for 2D materials have been developed, further triggering the need for the precise control of defects. Following the ground-breaking advancements in the atomic-scale characterization of defects in 2D materials, valuable information on defect-driven electronic properties has been published. It is therefore important to present a review work on the recent research developments on atomic-level defect control and characterization of 2D materials. This Perspective highlights the type and role of atomic defects in 2D materials, as well as some current technologies for engineering such defects. In addition, we emphasize on atomic-level characterization methods with a focus on aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy and deep learning as a powerful method for characterizing defects in 2D materials. Based on the two characterization techniques, we present the experimental results of laser-induced structurally modified MoTe2 and transition metal decorated h-BN. We believe that this work will provide fundamental knowledge for engineering and characterizing defects in 2D materials for the design of application-specific electronic devices.
Highlights
The miniaturization of conventional metal–oxide– semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) based on silicon is facing significant challenges because of fundamental limitations at the material and device physics levels.1–4 In contrast, two-dimensional (2D) materials offer a good alternative owing to their controllable thickness, along with a plethora of other fascinating properties provided by a range of materials from metal oxide semiconductors to insulators.5–7 the properties of these materials can be feasibly tuned via structural modulation, through precise control of atomic defects.8 Generally, defect engineering in 2D materials can be achieved either by controlling the precursor reagents during synthesis
Among substitutional defects in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), the local density of states (DOS) reveals that F, Cl, Br, and I atoms are possible donors, while O is considered as an acceptor dopant
Kotakoski et al used e-beam irradiation with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) to scitation.org/journal/apm create a sp2-hybridized one-atom-thick flat carbon membrane with different types of defects
Summary
The miniaturization of conventional metal–oxide– semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) based on silicon is facing significant challenges because of fundamental limitations at the material and device physics levels. In contrast, two-dimensional (2D) materials offer a good alternative owing to their controllable thickness, along with a plethora of other fascinating properties provided by a range of materials from metal oxide semiconductors to insulators. the properties of these materials can be feasibly tuned via structural modulation, through precise control of atomic defects. Generally, defect engineering in 2D materials can be achieved either by controlling the precursor reagents during synthesis. The properties of these materials can be feasibly tuned via structural modulation, through precise control of atomic defects.. Scitation.org/journal/apm defect engineering methods, and their characterization techniques in 2D materials. Such works are mostly based on the literature survey with limited corroborating experimental findings. We emphasize on the importance of using scanning transmission electron microscopy and neural-based machine learning to analyze and quantify various defect species in structurally modified MoTe2. This straightforward generation and precise control of defects in 2D materials are key toward achieving application-specific electronic devices
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