2D Amorphous Carbon Dielectric for Nanoelectronics

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors and semimetals could enable performance and scaling of solid-state electronic devices beyond the limits of those built on their conventional bulk counterparts. However, their suitable accompanying 2D dielectric, ideally in the highly disordered amorphous form similar to SiO₂ for silicon, has not been identified, which prevents nanoelectronic devices based on low-dimensional nanomaterials from fulfilling their potential. The synthesis of 2D amorphous dielectrics and their integration into electronic devices are challenging due to the metastable nature of amorphous phases. Here we discuss the synthesis of a solution processible precursor to enable a scalable and solution-based strategy to prepare large-area and freestanding 2D amorphous carbon monolayers and multilayers as novel dielectrics. The synthesis and characterization of the carbon precursor and the 2D amorphous carbon film will be described. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the 2D amorphous carbon as dielectric materials, carbon nanoelectronic devices are fabricated and evaluated.