Extreme Lithography & Materials Innovation Center

PlasMat2D, led by Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, is focused on the low-temperature plasma (LTP) that underpin most of the processes used to make computer chips and digital memory. The project is building the scientific foundation to ensure continued advances in chip performance and energy efficiency, while enabling denser memory, by exploring how to harness plasma to create complex, 3D structures from ultra-thin 2D materials. The research investigates plasma-enabled growth, substitution, and etching to build high-density, 3D stacks of semiconductors and insulators. This synergy between plasma science, materials science, and quantum chemistry aims to pave the way for next-generation microelectronics.

FEATURES

PlasMat2D provides ELMIC members with access to the Princeton Collaborative Research Low-Temperature Research Facility’s state-of-the-art research capabilities. The project also provides expertise on the comprehensive characterization of LTP, as well as unique plasma processing reactors for damage-free processing. Computational codes for simulating low-temperature plasma are also available, including those that simulate the interactions between material surfaces and plasma species (electrons, ions, radicals, and photons).

PUBLICATIONS

Y. Polyachenko, Y. Barsukov, S. Khalid, and I. Kaganovich, "Transition Metal Dichalcogenide MoS2: Oxygen and Fluorine Functionalization for Selective Plasma Processing," J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 17, 5207 (2026).

S. S. Lowe, S. P. Butler, J. E. Anthony, S. Xie, and B. P. Rand, "Plasmons Enable Ultralow Threshold Solid-State Triplet Fusion Upconversion with a 2D Sensitizer," Nano Lett. 26, 4220 (2026).

C. Reilly, S. Musikhin, S. Butler, N. Guisinger, S. Xie, Y. Raitses, A. Kunin, "Characterization of Low-Temperature Plasma-Induced Defects in Monolayer WS2," Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science (FiO, LS)  (2026).