Thin film transistors (TFTs) are key components for the fabrication of electronic and optoelectronic devices, resulting in a push for the wider exploration of semiconducting materials and ...cost‐effective synthesis processes. In this report, a simple approach is proposed to achieve 2‐nm‐thick indium oxide nanosheets from liquid metal surfaces by employing a squeeze printing technique and thermal annealing at 250 °C in air. The resulting materials exhibit a high degree of transparency (>99 %) and an excellent electron mobility of ≈96 cm2 V−1 s−1, surpassing that of pristine printed 2D In2O3 and many other reported 2D semiconductors. UV‐detectors based on annealed 2D In2O3 also benefit from this process step, with the photoresponsivity reaching 5.2 × 104 and 9.4 × 103 A W−1 at the wavelengths of 285 and 365 nm, respectively. These values are an order of magnitude higher than for as‐synthesized 2D In2O3. Utilizing transmission electron microscopy with in situ annealing, it is demonstrated that the improvement in device performances is due to nanostructural changes within the oxide layers during annealing process. This work highlights a facile and ambient air compatible method for fabricating high‐quality semiconducting oxides, which will find application in emerging transparent electronics and optoelectronics.
2‐nm‐thick indium oxide nanosheets with high electron mobility have been synthesized utilizing a liquid metal printing technique and thermal annealing in air. Transmission electron microscopy with in situ annealing reveals that the improvement in device performances is due to nanostructural changes during annealing process. This work highlights a facile and ambient air compatible method for fabricating high‐quality semiconductors, which find application in emerging electronics and optoelectronics.
High dielectric constant (high-k) ultrathin films are required as insulating gate materials. The well-known high-k dielectrics, including HfO2, ZrO2, and SrTiO3, feature three-dimensional lattice ...structures and are thus not easily obtained in the form of distinct ultrathin sheets. Therefore, their deposition as ultrathin layers still imposes challenges for electronic industries. Consequently, new high-k nanomaterials with k in the range of 40 to 100 and a band gap exceeding 4 eV are highly sought after. Antimony oxide nanosheets appear as a potential candidate that could fulfill these characteristics. Here, we report on the stoichiometric cubic polymorph of 2D antimony oxide (Sb2O3) as an ideal high-k dielectric sheet that can be synthesized via a low-temperature, substrate-independent, and silicon-industry-compatible liquid metal synthesis technique. A bismuth–antimony alloy was produced during the growth process. Preferential oxidation caused the surface of the melt to be dominated by α-Sb2O3. This ultrathin α-Sb2O3 was then deposited onto desired surfaces via a liquid metal print transfer. A tunable sheet thickness between ∼1.5 and ∼3 nm was achieved, while the lateral dimensions were within the millimeter range. The obtained α-Sb2O3 exhibited high crystallinity and a wide band gap of ∼4.4 eV. The relative permittivity assessment revealed a maximum k of 84, while a breakdown electric field of ∼10 MV/cm was observed. The isolated 2D α-Sb2O3 nanosheets were utilized in top-gated field-effect transistors that featured low leakage currents, highlighting that the obtained material is a promising gate oxide for conventional and van der Waals heterostructure-based electronics.
Wide bandgap semiconducting oxides are emerging as potential 2D materials for transparent electronics and optoelectronics. This fuels the quest for discovering new 2D metal oxides with ultrahigh ...transparency and high mobility. While the former can be achieved by reducing the thickness of oxide films to only a few nanometers, the latter is more commonly realized by intentional doping. This article reports a one‐step synthesis of few‐unit‐cell‐thick and laterally large antimony‐doped indium oxide (IAO). The doping process occurs spontaneously when the oxide is grown on the surface of a molten Sb–In alloy and 2D IAO nanosheets can be easily printed onto desired substrates. With thicknesses at the atomic scale, these materials exhibit excellent transparency exceeding 98% across the visible and near‐infrared range. Field‐effect transistors based on low‐doped IAO nanosheets reveal a high electron mobility of ≈40 cm2 V−1 s−1. Additionally, a notable photoresponse is observed in 2D IAO‐based photodetectors under ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Photoresponsivities of low‐doped and highly doped IAO at a wavelength of 285 nm are found to be 1.2 × 103 and 0.7 × 103 A W−1, respectively, identifying these materials as promising candidates for the fabrication of high‐performance optoelectronics in the UV region.
2D crystalline antimony‐doped indium oxide nanosheets with few‐atom thicknesses and laterally large dimensions are synthesized utilizing a single‐step, scalable liquid metal printing technique. The work proposes a viable pathway for realizing ultrathin transparent semiconducting oxides with enhanced electronic and optical properties, providing a fascinating semiconducting platform for next‐generation optoelectronics, neuromorphic devices, and beyond.
The p-type surface conductivity of hydrogen-terminated diamond (H-diamond) provides a viable approach toward diamond-based wide-bandgap metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) ...for high-power and high-frequency electronics. A facile, low-cost, and low-temperature method to form gate dielectrics on diamond that also preserves the integrity of hydrogen-termination is highly desirable for high-performance diamond surface electronics with process flexibility and high yield. In this work, we demonstrate a p-channel diamond MOSFET with an ultrathin glassy Ga2O3 dielectric layer derived from liquid metal. A liquid metal printing method was employed to transfer an amorphous Ga2O3 layer over the desired active p-channel region of H-diamond at low temperature, allowing the protection and preservation the hydrogen-terminated surface while also forming an efficient gate dielectric. The results of this work suggest that the liquid metal method can provide an efficient, low-cost, and high-yield pathway to form high-quality dielectrics for diamond-based transistors.