Material Design of TMD Superlattices

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are a family of van der Waals materials that possess numerous correlated phases of matter. A common way of studying these phases is via exfoliation and careful assembly of 2D heterostructures, a process that is delicate and prone to disorder. Such studies have recently been extended to natural superlattice structures, which combine TMD layers with partner spacer layers in natural crystals. Here we discuss the development of such structures in which the electronic transport can be quenched, toward the study of new types of superlattice materials beyond the currently known superconducting variants.