Homogeneous Modulation of Uniaxial Strain in Two-dimensional Materials Towards Mechanical Failure

Strain in crystalline materials can strongly modify the electronic band structure and carrier interactions, enabling controlled tuning of their electronic, optical, and magnetic properties. Two-dimensional (2D) materials - with elastic strains maintained up to or exceeding 10% before mechanical failure, are an ideal platform for studying the impact of large strain on materials properties. In recent years, there have been substantial efforts dedicated to achieving highly tunable and in situ control over uniaxial strain in 2D materials. However, these approaches have remained limited by strain inhomogeneity, low strain range, and poor reproducibility. In this work, we report a high-yield method for preparing uniaxially strained 2D materials that extends the limit of strain to the intrinsic strain to failure of the materials tested herein. Using this method, we demonstrate negligible slippage during cycled strain with homogeneous strain across the majority of the intentionally strained area. In the same device, we independently realized homogeneous modulation of strain gradients in distinct regions, opening opportunities to investigate emergent phenomena such as flexomagnetism, which depends not only on the magnitude of strain but also on its spatial distribution.