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Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Residue-Free Fabrication of van der Waals Heterostructures of Two-Dimensional Materials
Published on: July 18, 2025
Contemporary Challenges in van der Waals 2D Semiconductors
Balakrishnan Kirubasankar1,2, Ashok Mondal1,2,3, Seok Joon Yun4
1Center for Low-Dimensional Quantum Materials, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China.
Van der Waals (vdW) layered semiconductors offer unique quantum properties for advanced electronics. This review explores challenges and opportunities in their synthesis, device integration, and applications for future technologies.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Quantum Materials
Background:
- Van der Waals (vdW) layered semiconductors possess unique quantum properties like reduced dielectric screening and strong Coulomb interactions.
- These properties enable exotic many-body physics and diverse device applications, including transistors, optoelectronics, and energy harvesting.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive overview of current challenges and future opportunities in vdW-layered semiconductors.
- To consolidate fundamental insights and device-level perspectives for advancing vdW semiconductor technology.
Main Methods:
- This mega-review synthesizes contemporary research across nine key themes.
- Themes include crystal growth, heterostructures, contacts, dielectrics, transistors, magnetic semiconductors, plasmonics, solar cells, neuromorphic computing, and energy conversion.
Main Results:
- Critical challenges persist in controlled synthesis, low-resistance contacts, gate dielectrics, and wafer-scale device performance.
- Significant progress has been made in exploring applications from electronics to sustainable energy systems.
Conclusions:
- Advancing vdW semiconductors requires addressing synthesis, integration, and performance challenges.
- A roadmap is proposed to transition vdW semiconductors from laboratory discoveries to transformative technologies.
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