Direct bonding and debonding of 2D semiconductors

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are regarded as promising building blocks for next-generation electronics. However, the fabrication of high quality 2D semiconductor wafers with engineered layers remains a significant challenge. Here, we develop a direct wafer bonding and debonding method for monolayer epitaxial semiconductors to overcome this challenge. The direct bonding/debonding process is operated in vacuum/glove-box and requires no intermediate layer assistance, yielding stacked 2D semiconductor wafers with ultra-clean surfaces/interfaces, wafer-scale uniformity, and control in layer numbers and interlayer twist angles. We also demonstrate the direct bonding of monolayer 2D semiconductors onto dielectric substrates (e.g., HfO2 and Al2O3) and the preserved intrinsic electronic properties is verified. The direct bonding-debonding process is fully compatible with the standard semiconductor fabrication process, propelling the lab-to-industry journey of 2D semiconductors.