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Updated: Feb 16, 2026
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Residue-Free Fabrication of van der Waals Heterostructures of Two-Dimensional Materials
Published on: July 18, 2025
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Strain engineering of van der Waals heterostructures
Paul A Vermeulen1, Jefta Mulder, Jamo Momand
1Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands. p.a.vermeulen@rug.nl.
Nanoscale
|January 6, 2018
Summary
Strain engineering in van der Waals (vdWaals) heterostructures is possible, contrary to previous assumptions. New growth methods allow persistent in-plane strain up to 5% with unique relaxation processes for 2D materials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Strain engineering is crucial for controlling material properties.
- Van der Waals (vdWaals) materials, with their weak interlayer bonding, were thought unsuitable for strain engineering due to anticipated strain relaxation.
- Existing strain relaxation models are based on three-dimensionally bonded (3D) materials.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the possibility and mechanisms of strain engineering in vdWaals heterostructures.
- To demonstrate persistent in-plane strain in vdWaals heterostructures.
- To reveal novel strain relaxation processes in 2D materials.
Main Methods:
- Growth of vdWaals heterostructures (Bi2Te3-Sb2Te3 and Bi2Te3-GeTe) using Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD).
- In situ monitoring of crystal structure using Reflective High Energy Electron Diffraction (RHEED).
- Post situ structural analysis using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM).
- Modeling of strain relaxation dynamics.
Main Results:
- Successful growth of vdWaals heterostructures with persistent in-plane strains up to 5%.
- Observation of a novel strain relaxation process, distinct from that in 3D materials.
- Strain relaxation was found to depend solely on the specific layer and its initial strain.
Conclusions:
- Strain engineering is feasible in vdWaals heterostructures, challenging previous notions.
- The strain relaxation mechanisms in 2D bonded materials differ significantly from those in 3D materials.
- This work enables precise tuning of strain in individual layers for optimized vdWaals heterostructure performance.
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