Universal epitaxy of non-centrosymmetric two-dimensional single-crystal metal dichalcogenides

Peiming Zheng; Wenya Wei; Zhihua Liang; Biao Qin; Jinpeng Tian; Jinhuan Wang; Ruixi Qiao; Yunlong Ren; Junting Chen; Chen Huang; Xu Zhou; Guangyu Zhang; Zhilie Tang; Dapeng Yu; Feng Ding; Kaihui Liu; Xiaozhi Xu

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-36286-6

Universal epitaxy of non-centrosymmetric two-dimensional single-crystal metal dichalcogenides

Nat Commun. 2023 Feb 3;14(1):592. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36286-6.

Authors

Peiming Zheng^#^{1

2}, Wenya Wei^#^{1

2}, Zhihua Liang^#^{1

2}, Biao Qin^#³, Jinpeng Tian⁴, Jinhuan Wang³, Ruixi Qiao⁵, Yunlong Ren^{1

2}, Junting Chen^{1

2}, Chen Huang³, Xu Zhou^{1

2}, Guangyu Zhang^{4

6}, Zhilie Tang^{1

2}, Dapeng Yu⁷, Feng Ding⁸, Kaihui Liu^{9

10

11}, Xiaozhi Xu^{12

13}

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
² Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
³ State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics, Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory for Nanoscale Physics and Devices, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
⁵ International Centre for Quantum Materials, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Quantum Matter, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
⁶ Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dongguan, 523808, China.
⁷ Shenzhen Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
⁸ Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering/Institute of Technology for Carbon Neutrality, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China. [email protected].
⁹ State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics, Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. [email protected].
¹⁰ International Centre for Quantum Materials, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Quantum Matter, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. [email protected].
¹¹ Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dongguan, 523808, China. [email protected].
¹² Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China. [email protected].
¹³ Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China. [email protected].

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

The great challenge for the growth of non-centrosymmetric 2D single crystals is to break the equivalence of antiparallel grains. Even though this pursuit has been partially achieved in boron nitride and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) growth, the key factors that determine the epitaxy of non-centrosymmetric 2D single crystals are still unclear. Here we report a universal methodology for the epitaxy of non-centrosymmetric 2D metal dichalcogenides enabled by accurate time sequence control of the simultaneous formation of grain nuclei and substrate steps. With this methodology, we have demonstrated the epitaxy of unidirectionally aligned MoS₂ grains on a, c, m, n, r and v plane Al₂O₃ as well as MgO and TiO₂ substrates. This approach is also applicable to many TMDs, such as WS₂, NbS₂, MoSe₂, WSe₂ and NbSe₂. This study reveals a robust mechanism for the growth of various 2D single crystals and thus paves the way for their potential applications.