Sliding Disassembly of van der Waals Heterostructures: Part 2

The assembly of van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures has been central to many recent advances in our understanding of two-dimensional electron systems. Here we describe an additional, complementary degree of freedom for heterostructure fabrication that takes advantage of controlled sliding of individual layers within an assembled van der Waals heterostructure. We will demonstrate the utility of this technique in the preparation of samples for measurements with scanning tunneling microscopy – including air-sensitive materials, moiré heterostructures, and multiterminal transport devices. Additionally, we will highlight new approaches to heterostructure fabrication made possible by van der Waals sliding.