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Updated: Feb 8, 2026

Residue-Free Fabrication of van der Waals Heterostructures of Two-Dimensional Materials
Published on: July 18, 2025
Piezoelectricity in WSe2/MoS2 heterostructure atomic layers.
Sheng Yu1, Quinton Rice, Bagher Tabibi
1Advanced Center for Laser Science and Spectroscopy, Department of Physics, Hampton University, Hampton, VA 23668, USA. jaetae.seo@hamptonu.edu.
Two-dimensional tungsten diselenide/molybdenum disulfide (WSe2/MoS2) heterostructures exhibit unique piezoelectric properties. These materials show promise for nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS) due to their significant output voltage under strain.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) heterostructures possess unique electronic and piezoelectric properties.
- The van der Waals heterostructure of WSe2/MoS2 forms a type-II staggered gap alignment due to differing work functions.
- This alignment leads to significant electric polarization and piezoelectricity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the piezoelectric characteristics of WSe2/MoS2 atomic layer heterostructures.
- To explore the influence of stacking type, layer number, and interlayer interaction on piezoelectricity.
- To assess the potential for WSe2/MoS2 heterostructures in nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS).
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of two-dimensional WSe2/MoS2 heterostructures.
- Characterization of piezoelectric properties under varying tensile strains.
- Analysis of output voltage in partial vertical heterostructures.
- Comparison of output voltages between AA-stacking and AB-stacking configurations.
Main Results:
- Output voltages of 0.137 V and 0.183 V were recorded for a 3.0 nm × 1.5 nm MoS2/WSe2 heterostructure under 4% and 8% tensile strains, respectively.
- AB-stacking exhibited higher output voltage than AA-stacking under 4% tensile strain.
- AB-stacking demonstrated lower formation energy and superior structural stability.
Conclusions:
- WSe2/MoS2 heterostructures possess significant piezoelectric properties tunable by structural parameters.
- The large output voltage and enhanced stability of AB-stacking configurations are advantageous.
- These findings pave the way for the development of NEMS utilizing TMDC heterostructure atomic layers.
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