Electrostatic-repulsion-based transfer of van der Waals materials

Van der Waals (vdW) materials offer unique opportunities for 3D integration1,2 of planar circuits towards higher-density transistors and energy-efficient computation3–7. Owing to the high thermal budget and special substrate requirement for the synthesis of high-quality vdW materials8–10, an advanced transfer technique is required that can simultaneously meet a broad range of industrial requirements, including high intactness, cleanliness and speed, large scale, low cost and versatility. However, previous efforts based on either etching or etching-free mechanisms typically only improve one or two of the aforementioned aspects11–13 and a comprehensive and systematic solution remains lacking. Here we demonstrate an electrostatic-repulsion-enabled advanced transfer technique that is etching free, high yield, fast, wafer scale, low cost and widely applicable, using ammonia solution compatible with the complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) industry. The high material intactness and interface cleanliness enable superior device performances in 2D field-effect transistors with 100% yield, near-zero hysteresis (7 mV) and near-ideal subthreshold swing (65.9 mV dec−1). The combination with bismuth contact further enables an ultrahigh on-current of 1.3 mA μm−1 under 1 V bias. This advanced transfer approach offers a facile and manufacturing-viable solution for vdW-materials-based electronics, paving the way for advanced 3D integration in the future.