High-Speed Electromechanical Transfer Printing of 2D Materials

Technology

This invention describes systems, devices, and related methods for electromechanical transfer printing of 2D materials disposed on one substrate to another. The printing device can be configured to transfer a 2D material from a source substrate to the target substrate by applying a combination of mechanical and electrostatic forces to facilitate electromechanical adhesion between the 2D material layer and the target substrate. Some embodiments of the printing device can affect direct transfer printing of a 2D material from a source substrate to a target substrate without the use of etchants and adhesives. Some embodiments can include the use of pre-oxidation of the first substrate, a heating element on the second substrate or an applied electric field across either substrate.

Problem Addressed

Current fabrication by chemical vapor deposition on metallic foils is incompatible with polymer or dielectric substrates, thus limiting the applications for this method. Further, other transfer methods rely on wet chemistry or adhesives that can result in defects, unintentional doping, and wasted growth substrate. This transfer process also addresses the need for scalability in size and manufacturing speed, further facilitating research in the effective transfer printing of 2D materials.

Advantages

• No use of metal etchant or adhesives
• Less material used compared to other methods
• Clean printing with no chemical residues
• Fast material transfer speeds
• Large achievable scales of material transfer