{
  "abstract": "Air-sensitive 2D materials present fundamental challenges for device integration. Encapsulation is required to preserve intrinsic properties, yet conventional strategies require complicated fabrication workflows and fail with thicker flakes. We demonstrate that electron-beam (e-beam) evaporated aluminum oxide (AlOx) serves as an effective encapsulation layer and sacrificial fabrication mask, protecting sensitive flakes from air, photoresists, and chemicals. Unlike transfer-based approaches, this scalable technique requires no stacking and enables contacts without postencapsulation etching or harsh chemistry. Using rare-earth tritellurides (RTe3, R = La, Er), semimetallic WTe2, and superconducting FeTexSe1-x, we show that AlOx suppresses oxidation and preserves optical and electronic properties. We establish substrate-dependent optimization of encapsulation across a range of flake thicknesses, demonstrate that ultrathin AlOx preserves WTe2's plasmonic response, and enhances superconducting performance in FeTexSe1-x devices when employed as a mask. Thus, we overcome the longstanding trade-off between encapsulation and straightforward device fabrication in fragile quantum materials.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Physics, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts02467, United States.",
    "Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York11794, United States.",
    "Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), 13083-970Campinas, São PauloBrazil.",
    "Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey08544, United States.",
    "Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio45433, United States.",
    "Azimuth Corporation, a Core4ce LLC Company, 2079 Presidential Dr. No. 200, Fairborn, Ohio45342, United States.",
    "Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, New York11973, United States.",
    "Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York10027, United States.",
    "Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York10027, United States."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 19,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Gabriel Natale",
      "orcid": "0009-0006-0624-7268"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Uma Chirkova"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Flávio Henriques Feres",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9812-974X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Ran Jing"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Michael Geiwitz",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-7197-9381"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Wenyao Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Emma Low"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Josh Leeman"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kyung-Mo Kim"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Leslie M Schoop",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3459-4241"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Mohamed Shehabeldin",
      "orcid": "0009-0002-3337-8387"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Qiong Ma"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Michael A Susner",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1211-8749"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Pijush Bhattacharya"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Genda Gu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Katherine Lee"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "James Hone",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8084-3301"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Mengkun Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kenneth S Burch",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7541-0245"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/anq81xdbyhc8j.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03297",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13674325",
  "id": "anq81xdbyhc8j",
  "issns": [
    "1530-6984",
    "1530-6992"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42917056",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2505|2D Materials and Applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7204596384",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13674325?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13674325",
  "pmid": "42917056",
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/anq81xdbyhc8j.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:36Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42917056",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42917056"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2505|2D Materials and Applications",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Scalable, Simple, and Versatile Encapsulation of 2D Materials and Devices.",
  "title_text": "Scalable, Simple, and Versatile Encapsulation of 2D Materials and Devices.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:36Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/anq81xdbyhc8j",
  "venue": "Nano letters",
  "versions": []
}