Two-dimensional (2D) materials, with graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) as their most prominent representatives, exhibit exceptional properties that are of great interest for a wide range of electronic applications. Existing synthesis and processing methods at the laboratory scale include the chemical synthesis and exfoliation of micrometer-sized 2D flakes with functionalized surfaces, which can be further processed through printing and coating techniques, as well as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) for wafer-scale, extended 2D materials. These materials can be used as synthesized or transferred onto arbitrary, even flexible, target substrates. However, technological implementation lags significantly behind due to a large gap in scalable processing technologies, device architectures, and fundamental understanding of the associated interfacial phenomena.
The primary goal of the DFG Research Training Group / NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience Scalable 2D-Materials Architectures (2D-MATURE) is to establish an integrated approach to scalable synthesis and processing pathways for 2D material units—2D flakes and extended 2D materials. It aims to advance their unconventional combination and implementation into application-oriented, scalable architectures and to develop a deep understanding of interfacial functionality, enabling and testing their applicability in exemplary electronic components.
2D-MATURE will address these challenges in two key ways:
i) Through its research program, the team of early-career and established researchers will:
develop scalable synthesis and processing pathways for 2D materials with high yield and control,
characterize, understand, and manipulate their interfacial functionality,
implement 2D materials and their combinations into realistic device architectures and demonstrate their potential in exemplary electronic components.
ii) Through its training program, 2D-MATURE will educate the next generation of scientists in an interdisciplinary, international, and cross-sectoral environment, equipping them with knowledge and skills highly valued in academia and industry in the context of Workplace 4.0.
These tasks will be undertaken by a team of Principal Investigators (PIs) from electrical engineering, process engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, and chemistry at the University of Duisburg-Essen and the University of Waterloo (Canada), both leading centers for nanotechnology research with a long tradition of connecting fundamental and applied sciences. The team is further supported by a PI from RWTH Aachen. 2D-MATURE will leverage the expertise and facilities of these institutions and expand existing partnerships with industrial organizations.
