New encapsulation technique protects electronic properties of sensitive materials
As electronics grow smaller, researchers are searching for tiny components that function reliably in increasingly narrow configurations. Promising elements include the chemical compounds indium selenide (InSe) and gallium selenide (GaSe). In the form of ultra-thin layers, they form two-dimensional (2-D) semiconductors. But, so far, they have hardly been used because they degrade when they get in contact with air during manufacturing. Now, a new technique allows the sensitive material to be integrated in electronic components without losing its desired properties. The method, which has been described in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, was developed by Himani Arora, a doctoral candidate of physics at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR).