Visualizing the Electric Fields of 2D Materials-Based Devices by Operando X-ray Photoemission Spectromicroscopy

Dario Mastrippolito^a^,^b, Mariarosa Cavallo^a, Erwan Bossavit^a^,^b, Pavel Dudin^b, Jose Avila^b, Emmanuel Lhuillier^a, Debora Pierucci^a

^aSorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut des NanoSciences de Paris, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.

^bSynchrotron SOLEIL, L'Orme des Merisiers, Départementale 128, 91190 Saint-Aubin, France.

Proceedings of MATSUS Spring 2026 Conference (MATSUSSpring26)

D4 Synthesis and Integration of 2D Materials for Electronics, Photonics, and Functional Devices

Barcelona, Spain, 2026 March 23rd - 27th

Organizers: Nikolas Antonatos and Filipa M. Oliveira

Oral, Dario Mastrippolito, presentation 076
Publication date: 15th December 2025

As electronic devices based on two-dimensional (2D) materials continue to advance in complexity and miniaturization, local probing techniques are becoming essential for investigating material behavior at the nanoscale, particularly when devices are integrated with electrodes and operated under external electric fields. Understanding their electronic structure under realistic working conditions is increasingly critical. Here, we discuss how to access the local energy landscape and electric-field distribution in 2D-material-based devices using operando scanning X-ray photoemission spectromicroscopy (SPEM), focusing on 2D field-effect transistors and van der Waals heterojunctions. By exploiting the high spatial resolution of SPEM [1], we achieve detailed mapping of the local energy landscape while devices are biased in situ. This technique provides direct access to both the out-of-plane gate field and the in-plane vectorial electric-field distribution with sub-micrometer resolution [2]. Our results demonstrate that this method serves as a sensitive local probe of device design, flake geometry, thickness, and morphology, factors that strongly influence nanoscale current flow within the device channel [2]. The approach highlights finite-size effects and the spatial distribution of electric fields at flake interfaces [3]. Ultimately, it enables a correlative description connecting the bias-modified local energy landscape to the macroscopic electrical response, offering a pathway toward systematic and rational optimization of nanoelectronic devices, including—but not limited to—those based on 2D materials.

References:

[1] J. Avila, S. Lorcy, P. Dudin. ANTARES: Space-resolved electronic structure. Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena, 2023, 266, 147362

[2] D. Mastrippolito, M. Cavallo, D. Borowski, E. Bossavit, C. Gureghian, A. Colle, T. Gemo, A. Khalili, H. Zhang, A. Ram, E. Dandeu, S. Ithurria, J. Biscaras, P. Dudin, J. Dayen, J. Avila, E. Lhuillier, D. Pierucci. Operando Photoemission Imaging of the Energy Landscape from a 2D Material-Based Field-Effect Transistor. ACS Nano 19, 9, 9241–9249 (2025)

[3] D. Mastrippolito, M. Cavallo, E. Bossavit, C. Gureghian, A. Colle, T. Gemo, G. Strobbia, D. De Pesseroey, M. Paye, A. Khalili, H. Zhang, J. Biscaras, J. K. Utterback, P. Dudin, J. Avila, E. Lhuillier, D. Pierucci. Electric Field Distribution within a Van der Waals Heterostructure. Nano Letters 25, 29, 11340-11346 (2025)

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