Damage-free LED lithography for atomically thin 2D material devices

Desired electrode patterning on two-dimensional (2D) materials is a foremost step for realizing the full potentials of 2D materials in electronic devices. Here, we introduce an approach for damage-free, on-demand manufacturing of 2D material devices using light-emitting diode (LED) lithography. The advantage of this method lies in mild photolithography by simply combining an ordinary optical microscope with a commercially available LED projector; the low-energy red component is utilized for optical characterization and alignment of devices, whereas the high-energy blue component is utilized for photoresist exposure and development of personal computer designed electrode patterns. This method offers maskless, damage-free photolithography, which is particularly suitable for 2D materials that are sensitive to conventional lithography. We applied this LED lithography to device fabrication of selected nanosheets (MoS₂, graphene oxides and RuO₂), and achieved damage-free lithography of various patterned electrodes with feature sizes as small as 1–2 μm. The LED lithography offers a useful approach for cost-effective mild lithography without any costly instruments, high vacuum, or complex operation.