Van der Waals template–encoded soft epitaxy of tellurium enabled by atomic layer deposition
Van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy can integrate lattice-mismatched crystals with atomically sharp, pristine interfaces. However, translating this concept to atomic layer deposition (ALD), a standard for low-temperature, layer-by-layer growth, remains challenging because precursors adsorb transiently on chemically inert vdW basal planes, leading to physisorption-limited nucleation and poor crystalline ordering. Here, we introduce diffusion-steered epitaxial ALD (Epi-ALD), redefining vdW surfaces as programmable kinetic-thermodynamic landscapes and demonstrate highly crystalline tellurium at 150°C. Epi-ALD couples surface-potential-encoded physisorption with long-range diffusion to promote ordered nucleation and epitaxial alignment. This "soft" pathway enables strain-free tellurium epitaxy with a pristine vdW gap (∼1.4 angstrom) despite lattice mismatch (>3.6%) and generalizes across multiple vdW templates. Retaining hallmark advantages of ALD including scalability and uniformity, we further program in-plane orientation through vdW symmetry engineering to achieve quasi-single-crystalline tellurium films with pronounced anisotropy and a chiral anomaly signature. Our work establishes a universal, low-thermal-budget approach for integrating vdW materials and expands the scope of epitaxy within the ALD paradigm.
Authors
- Joonki Suh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0221-8447)
- Chuqiao Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6372-5445)
- Namwook Hur
- Satadeep Bhattacharjee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6717-2881)
- M Kyoo Kim
- Tae‐Eon Park (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0192-2771)
- Sefaattin Tongay (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8294-984X)
- Seung‐Cheol Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9741-6955)
- Yimo Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0563-4611)
- Phani Motamarri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3160-7334)
- Mingyu Jang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5008-1365)
- Bonggeun Shong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5782-6300)
- G S Lee
- Seungwoo Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8524-3444)
- Xinyan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3005-0151)
- Changhwan Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0626-730X)
- Seonguk Yang
- Melike Erdi
- Srinibas Nandi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4892-9279)
- Wenxuan Zhu
- Hyeon Cho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8093-1611)
- Subin Im (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5263-6184)
- Minhyuk Choi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1995-9567)
Institutions
- Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
- Sunchon National University (KR)
- Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KR)
- Indo Korea Science and Technology (IN)
- Hanyang University (KR)
- Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
- Arizona State University (US)
- Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
- Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IN)
- Rice University (US)
- Anyang University (KR)
- Hongik University (KR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2026-07-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aef1430
- Primary Topic
- 2D Materials and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Welch Foundation
- Applied Materials
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- National Research Council of Science and Technology