Scalably-nanomanufactured atomically-thin piezoelectric semiconductor for ubiquitous electronics and smart sensors

The reliable production of atomically-thin crystals is essential for exploring new science and implementing novel technologies in the 2D limit. In this talk, I will discuss our recent discovery of a new 2-D piezoelectric semiconductor, tellurene, synthesized by a substrate-free solution process. The tellurene crystals exhibit process-tunable thicknesses from a monolayer to tens of nanometers, and lateral sizes ~ 100 mm. Our prototypical tellurene transistor device, which is air-stable, shows an excellent all-around figure of merits compared to existing 2D materials. We further carry out the first experimental exploration of piezotronic effect in tellurene and systematically investigate the piezotronic transport properties. The fundamental understanding of piezotronic coupling in tellurene is expected to provide insights for the development of 2-D material piezotronics and electronics, leading to the realization of “smarter” electronics for a multitude of emerging technologies, e.g., wearable electronics, soft robotics, medical prosthetics, and human-machine interface.