| Abstract Scope |
Advanced 2D materials like MXenes boast exceptional electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties, offering promising alternatives in integrated circuit designs facing challenges from continuous miniaturization and power constraints. Our study presents a scalable technique for crafting sub-10 nm MXene thin-film patterns, integrating lithography and spin-coating methods. Crucially, we introduce a novel HCl spin cleaning step, effectively eliminating halide salt residues often overlooked yet detrimental to film performance and integration into device construction. Our method ensures clean and uniform formation of 6-7.5 nm-thick transparent MXene films with exceptional conductivity, resulting in precisely micropatterned films that exhibit high photosensitivity at MXene–Si junctions. This breakthrough paves the way for MXene utilization in flexible, transparent, and wearable electronics, spanning interconnects, electrodes, and sensitive photodetectors. The HCl spin cleaning elevates MXene film purity and performance, resolving a critical fabrication challenge and establishing a new standard for microelectronics applications. |