Interfacial engineering of two-dimensional nano-structured materials by atomic layer deposition

•Advantages of atomic layer deposition technology (ALD) for two-dimensional nano-crystals.•Conformation of ALD technique and chemistry of precursors.•ALD of semiconductor oxide thin films.•Ultra-thin (∼1.47nm thick) ALD-developed tungsten oxide nano-crystals on large area. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is an enabling technology which provides coating and material features with significant advantages compared to other existing techniques for depositing precise nanometer-thin two-dimensional (2D) nanostructures. It is a cyclic process which relies on sequential self-terminating reactions between gas phase precursor molecules and a solid surface. ALD is especially advantageous when the film quality or thickness is critical, offering ultra-high aspect ratios. ALD provides digital thickness control to the atomic level by depositing film one atomic layer at a time, as well as pinhole-free films even over a very large and complex areas. Digital control extends to sandwiches, hetero-structures, nano-laminates, metal oxides, graded index layers and doping, and it is perfect for conformal coating and challenging 2D electrodes for various functional devices. The technique’s capabilities are presented on the example of ALD-developed ultra-thin 2D tungsten oxide (WO3) over the large area of standard 4” Si substrates. The discussed advantages of ALD enable and endorse the employment of this technique for the development of hetero-nanostructure 2D semiconductors with unique properties.