Selective patterning of out-of-plane piezoelectricity in MoTe2 via focused ion beam. (January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Seol, Daehee; Kim, Songkil; Jang, Woo-Sung; Jin, Yeongrok; Kang, Seunghun; Kim, Sera; Won, Dongyeun; Lee, Chanwoo; Kim, Young-Min; Lee, Jaekwang; Yang, Heejun; Jeong, Mun Seok; Belianinov, Alex; Tselev, Alexander; Somnath, Suhas; Smith, Christopher R.; Ovchinnikova, Olga S.; Balke, Nina; Kim, Yunseok
• Is Part Of: Nano energy. Volume 79(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-01
• Subjects: Transition-metal dichalcogenides -- Out-of-plane piezoelectricity -- Defect formation -- Inversion symmetry breaking -- Ion beam irradiation; Nanoscience -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanostructured materials -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Technological innovations -- Periodicals; Nanoscience; Nanostructured materials; Nanotechnology; Power resources -- Technological innovations; Periodicals; 621.042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105451
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2211-2855

Abstract

Abstract: Two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have a strain-sensitive nature and can only exhibit in-plane piezoelectricity, owing to their in-plane inversion symmetry breaking, which limits their practical applications for vertical stimulations. In this study, we demonstrated the capability of focused ion beams to create out-of-plane piezoelectricity on multi-layered MoTe2 . We utilized a focused helium ion beam to selectively pattern the out-of-plane piezoelectricity via defect engineering in a layered MoTe2 flake. The generated out-of-plane piezoelectricity in the desired area was quantitatively examined using atomic force microscopy, and ion beam irradiation-induced defect formation that gave rise to inversion symmetry breaking was confirmed. These results indicated that the out-of-plane piezoelectricity can be selectively patterned through a focused helium ion beam, and it is expected that this approach can also be applied to other classes of TMDs and can expand the application fields of TMD-based devices. Graphical Abstract: ga1 Highlights: Selective patterning of out-of-plane piezoelectricity in 2D TMDs. Generation/improvement of piezoelectricity using ion beam unlike usual reports on the ion beam irradiation. Atomic-scale inversion symmetry breaking via local defect formation.