Van der Waals epitaxial growth of single-crystal molecular film

Epitaxy is the cornerstone of semiconductor technology, enabling the fabrication of single-crystal film. Recent advancements in van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy have opened new avenues for producing wafer-scale single-crystal 2D atomic crystals. However, when it comes to molecular crystals, the overall weak vdW force means that it is a significant challenge for small molecules to form a well-ordered structure during epitaxy. Here we demonstrate that the vdW epitaxy of Sb₂O₃ molecular crystal, where the whole growth process is governed by vdW interactions, can be precisely controlled. The nucleation is deterministically modulated by epilayer-substrate interactions and unidirectional nuclei are realized through designing the lattice and symmetry matching between epilayer and substrate. Moreover, the growth and coalescence of nuclei as well as the layer-by-layer growth mode are kinetically realized via tackling the Schwoebel-Ehrlich barrier. Such precise control of vdW epitaxy enables the growth of single-crystal Sb₂O₃ molecular film with desirable thickness. Using the ultrathin highly oriented Sb₂O₃ film as a gate dielectric, we fabricated MoS₂-based field-effect transistors that exhibit superior device performance. The results substantiate the viability of precisely managing molecule alignment in vdW epitaxy, paving the way for large-scale synthesis of single-crystal 2D molecular crystals.