Large-Area Dry Transfer of Single-Crystalline Epitaxial Bismuth Thin Films

Emily S. Walker, Seung Ryul Na, Daehwan Jung, Stephen D. March, Joon Seok Kim, Tanuj Trivedi, Wei Li, Li Tao, Minjoo L. Lee, Kenneth M. Liechti, Deji Akinwande, Seth R. Bank

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We report the first direct dry transfer of a single-crystalline thin film grown by molecular beam epitaxy. A double cantilever beam fracture technique was used to transfer epitaxial bismuth thin films grown on silicon (111) to silicon strips coated with epoxy. The transferred bismuth films retained electrical, optical, and structural properties comparable to the as-grown epitaxial films. Additionally, we isolated the bismuth thin films on freestanding flexible cured-epoxy post-transfer. The adhesion energy at the bismuth/silicon interface was measured to be ∼1 J/m2, comparable to that of exfoliated and wet transferred graphene. This low adhesion energy and ease of transfer is unexpected for an epitaxially grown film and may enable the study of bismuth's unique electronic and spintronic properties on arbitrary substrates. Moreover, this method suggests a route to integrate other group-V epitaxial films (i.e., phosphorus) with arbitrary substrates, as well as potentially to isolate bismuthene, the atomic thin-film limit of bismuth.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)6931-6938
Number of pages8
JournalNano letters
Volume16
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 9 2016

Keywords

  • 2D electronics
  • Molecular beam epitaxy
  • bismuth
  • thin films
  • transfer

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Bioengineering
  • General Chemistry
  • General Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanical Engineering

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