Scalable, Simple, and Versatile Encapsulation of 2D Materials and Devices.
9 affiliations
- 1Department of Physics, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts02467, United States.
- 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York11794, United States.
- 3Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), 13083-970Campinas, São PauloBrazil.
- 4Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey08544, United States.
- 5Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio45433, United States.
- 6Azimuth Corporation, a Core4ce LLC Company, 2079 Presidential Dr. No. 200, Fairborn, Ohio45342, United States.
- 7Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, New York11973, United States.
- 8Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York10027, United States.
- 9Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York10027, United States.
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.
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BibTeX
@article{natale2026scalable,
title = {{Scalable, Simple, and Versatile Encapsulation of 2D Materials and Devices.}},
author = {Gabriel Natale and Uma Chirkova and Flávio Henriques Feres and Ran Jing and Michael Geiwitz and Wenyao Liu and Emma Low and Josh Leeman and Kyung-Mo Kim and Leslie M Schoop and Mohamed Shehabeldin and Qiong Ma and Michael A Susner and Pijush Bhattacharya and Genda Gu and Katherine Lee and James Hone and Mengkun Liu and Kenneth S Burch},
journal = {Nano letters},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03297},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42917056},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Scalable, Simple, and Versatile Encapsulation of 2D Materials and Devices.
AU - Gabriel Natale
AU - Uma Chirkova
AU - Flávio Henriques Feres
AU - Ran Jing
AU - Michael Geiwitz
AU - Wenyao Liu
AU - Emma Low
AU - Josh Leeman
AU - Kyung-Mo Kim
AU - Leslie M Schoop
AU - Mohamed Shehabeldin
AU - Qiong Ma
AU - Michael A Susner
AU - Pijush Bhattacharya
AU - Genda Gu
AU - Katherine Lee
AU - James Hone
AU - Mengkun Liu
AU - Kenneth S Burch
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Nano letters
DO - 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03297
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42917056
AB - 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.
SN - 1530-6984
SN - 1530-6992
ER -