Defectronics—Application of Defects in Memory, Computing and Switching

Defects are inevitable in materials. Often they are undesired entities that reduce performance. Here, we describe defects in 2D materials and how they are essential for emerging applications. The discovery of memory effect in 2D atomically-thin nanomaterials is based on local defects such as vacancies or extended defects such as grain boundaries. These defects are in general reconfigurable by the provision of electrical or thermal energy. Non-volatile memory effect based on these defects has now been observed in over a dozen 2D materials including monolayers, multilayers and heterostructures. It is a rapidly advancing subject with rich physics and several applications. On this occasion, we will describe the basic mechanism of reconfigurable switching of localized vacancy defects in monolayer 2D materials. Furthermore, we will highlight examples of diverse applications including zero-power devices, non-volatile radio-frequency switches, and memristors for neuromorphic computing.