Autonomous manufacturing of scalable two-dimensional semiconductor devices (AUTO2D)

Atomically thin 2D materials provide a wide range of basic semiconductor device building blocks with unique electronic, optical, and magnetic properties which do not exist in their bulk counterparts. Remarkably, the atomic sheets can be stacked together without restriction to form semiconductor heterostructures with unprecedented properties and capabilities. Examples of such stacking include: stacking two layers with a relative twist to form novel quantum materials called moiré heterostructures that can exhibit superconductivity or exotic states of magnetism, single photon sources compatible with photonic integrated chips for quantum technologies or the world's thinnest light-emitting diodes and magnetic memories. Typically, 2D heterostructures are formed by manually stacking each layer in a tedious and low-yield process. Much faster yet precise and reproducible methods for isolating, identifying, and stacking of 2D sheets are essential for future research and technologies. We will tackle these needs by developing an automated manufacturing demonstrator capable of fabricating 2D devices of added complexity (increased number of layers and degrees of freedom) essential for research breakthroughs while simultaneously meeting the yield and scalability challenges essential for industrial uptake.