van der Waals Gap-Engineered Artificial Crystals: A Platform for Tunable Physical Properties and Emerging Device...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Artificial crystals, built from 2D atomic layers, offer tunable properties beyond natural materials.
• Scalable fabrication methods are driving their use in electronics, optoelectronics, and quantum devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review fabrication techniques for artificial crystals.
• To categorize van der Waals gap (vdWG) engineering strategies.
• To explore the impact of vdWG modulation on material properties and device applications.

Main Methods:

• Review of artificial crystal fabrication methodologies.
• Categorization of van der Waals gap (vdWG) engineering strategies (e.g., intercalation, compression, functionalization).
• Analysis of how controlled interlayer spacing influences material properties.

Main Results:

• vdWG engineering systematically tunes interlayer coupling, band alignment, charge transport, excitonic behavior, and structural phase.
• Engineered artificial crystals are suitable for high-performance transistors, photodetectors, superconductors, and spintronic devices.

Conclusions:

• vdWG engineering is critical for tailoring artificial crystal properties.
• Significant potential exists for next-generation devices, but challenges remain for real-world implementation.