Chapter 2
Entering a Two-Dimensional Materials
World
Abstract The class of two-dimensional materials has emerged as an important field
within nanomaterials science, and quantum-materials research has caught the attention of various research communities. With the rise of graphene as a promising ultrathin, electronic and optoelectronic, flexible and robust material, the exploration of
other similar van-der-Waals materials in the monolayer regime came into focus about
a decade ago. Among them are the semiconducting 2D crystals of the transition-metal
dichalcogenide family, the features of which can be typically even improved in combination with the atomically-flat 2D insulator hexagonal boron nitride. Currently,
the characterisation, growth and utilisation of monolayers, as well as heterostructures thereof, are heavily targeted owing to their extraordinary properties and the
prospects of device miniaturisation, as well as functionality boosts, in different technological domains. This chapter summarises various aspects of this material class
with a focus on 2D semiconductors and their application examples with relation
to the fields of (opto)electronics, photonics, as well as quantum technologies. An
overview is given on the remarkable features of these 2D materials from both a fundamental and application-oriented perspective. A brief discussion of graphene and
related materials is embedded. Here, also the role of stacked layered materials as well
as heterostructuring is introduced, before subjects such as light–matter interactions
and lasing with 2D semiconductors are addressed.
2.1 The Rise of the 2D Materials
2D materials and their heterostructures have received considerable attention in recent
years in the wider scientific literature, and they are a highly discussed topic on various
conferences and in numerous reviews. After systematic and pioneering studies on
single-layer (monolayer) graphite, known as graphene, were performed by Novoselov
et al. [1], a vast amount of work on van-der-Waals (vdW) materials targeted the optical, electrical, mechanical and (opto)electronic properties from the very beginning
[2], with a strong focus on the monolayer regime [1, 3–7]. With regard to the early
experiences and developments in the fields of 2D-materials research, the interested
reader is for instance referred to the Nobel lecture on graphene by Novoselov [8].
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
A. Rahimi-Iman, Semiconductor Photonics of Nanomaterials and Quantum Structures,
Springer Series in Solid-State Sciences 196,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69352-7_2
17
Entering a Two-Dimensional Materials
World
Abstract The class of two-dimensional materials has emerged as an important field
within nanomaterials science, and quantum-materials research has caught the attention of various research communities. With the rise of graphene as a promising ultrathin, electronic and optoelectronic, flexible and robust material, the exploration of
other similar van-der-Waals materials in the monolayer regime came into focus about
a decade ago. Among them are the semiconducting 2D crystals of the transition-metal
dichalcogenide family, the features of which can be typically even improved in combination with the atomically-flat 2D insulator hexagonal boron nitride. Currently,
the characterisation, growth and utilisation of monolayers, as well as heterostructures thereof, are heavily targeted owing to their extraordinary properties and the
prospects of device miniaturisation, as well as functionality boosts, in different technological domains. This chapter summarises various aspects of this material class
with a focus on 2D semiconductors and their application examples with relation
to the fields of (opto)electronics, photonics, as well as quantum technologies. An
overview is given on the remarkable features of these 2D materials from both a fundamental and application-oriented perspective. A brief discussion of graphene and
related materials is embedded. Here, also the role of stacked layered materials as well
as heterostructuring is introduced, before subjects such as light–matter interactions
and lasing with 2D semiconductors are addressed.
2.1 The Rise of the 2D Materials
2D materials and their heterostructures have received considerable attention in recent
years in the wider scientific literature, and they are a highly discussed topic on various
conferences and in numerous reviews. After systematic and pioneering studies on
single-layer (monolayer) graphite, known as graphene, were performed by Novoselov
et al. [1], a vast amount of work on van-der-Waals (vdW) materials targeted the optical, electrical, mechanical and (opto)electronic properties from the very beginning
[2], with a strong focus on the monolayer regime [1, 3–7]. With regard to the early
experiences and developments in the fields of 2D-materials research, the interested
reader is for instance referred to the Nobel lecture on graphene by Novoselov [8].
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
A. Rahimi-Iman, Semiconductor Photonics of Nanomaterials and Quantum Structures,
Springer Series in Solid-State Sciences 196,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69352-7_2
17