Towards Scalable Fabrications and Applications of 2D Layered Material-based Vertical and Lateral Heterostructures

Among 108423 unique, experimentally known 3D compounds, there exist 1825 ones that are either easily or potentially exfoliable. This increasingly broad library of 2D layered materials(2DLMs) with variable physical properties as well as the unique ability to vertical stacking or lateral stitching 2DLMs into complex heterostructures enables a new dimension for materials engineering and device design, offering novel functional electronics and optoelectronics for flexible industry. In this review, we present a comprehensive summary of the state-of-the-art scalable fabrication technologies, the unique properties as well as the potential device applications of the emerging 2D hetero-structures. Firstly, we depict an overall picture of the 2D vertical van der Waals heterostructures. Secondly, we focus on the 2D lateral heterostructures by CVD technique. For a quick access and full coverage, both the vertical and lateral 2D heterostructures are classified into several types according to their chemical compounds with different dimensions. In the end, both the challenges and potential applications of these 2D heterostructures are discussed.