Flexible metallic nanowires with self-adaptive contacts to semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayers.
In the pursuit of ultrasmall electronic components, monolayer electronic devices have recently been fabricated using transition-metal dichalcogenides. Monolayers of these materials are semiconducting, but nanowires with stoichiometry MX (M = Mo or W, X = S or Se) have been predicted to be metallic. Such nanowires have been chemically synthesized. However, the controlled connection of individual nanowires to monolayers, an important step in creating a two-dimensional integrated circuit, has so far remained elusive. In this work, by steering a focused electron beam, we directly fabricate MX nanowires that are less than a nanometre in width and Y junctions that connect designated points within a transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayer. In situ electrical measurements demonstrate that these nanowires are metallic, so they may serve as interconnects in future flexible nanocircuits fabricated entirely from the same monolayer. Sequential atom-resolved Z-contrast images reveal that the nanowires rotate and flex continuously under momentum transfer from the electron beam, while maintaining their structural integrity. They therefore exhibit self-adaptive connections to the monolayer from which they are sculpted. We find that the nanowires remain conductive while undergoing severe mechanical deformations, thus showing promise for mechanically robust flexible electronics. Density functional theory calculations further confirm the metallicity of the nanowires and account for their beam-induced mechanical behaviour. These results show that direct patterning of one-dimensional conducting nanowires in two-dimensional semiconducting materials with nanometre precision is possible using electron-beam-based techniques.
1] Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA [2] Materials Science & Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA [3].
Junhao
J
Lin
1] National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8565, Japan [2].
Ovidiu
O
Cretu
Materials Science & Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.
Wu
W
Zhou
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8565, Japan.
Kazu
K
Suenaga
Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Materials Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA.
Dhiraj
D
Prasai
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA.
Kirill I
KI
Bolotin
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8565, Japan.
Nguyen Thanh
NT
Cuong
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8565, Japan.
Minoru
M
Otani
Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8571, Japan.
Susumu
S
Okada
Materials Science & Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.
Andrew R
AR
Lupini
Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.
Juan-Carlos
JC
Idrobo
1] Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA [2] Department of Physics, Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee 37208, USA.
Dave
D
Caudel
Department of Physics, Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee 37208, USA.
Arnold
A
Burger
1] Materials Science & Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA [2] Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.
Nirmal J
NJ
Ghimire
1] Materials Science & Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA [2] Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.
Jiaqiang
J
Yan
1] Materials Science & Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA [2] Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA [3] Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.
David G
DG
Mandrus
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.
Stephen J
SJ
Pennycook
1] Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA [2] Materials Science & Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.
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