Conductive AFM of 2D materials and heterostructures for nanoelectronics

Two-dimensional materials (2DM), such as the semimetal graphene, semiconducting MoS2 and insulating h-BN, are currently the object of wide interests for next generation electronic applications. Despite recent progresses in large area synthesis of 2DMs, their electronic properties are still affected by nano- or micro-scale defects/inhomogeneities related to the specific growth process. Electrical scanning probe methods, such as conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM), are essential tools to investigate charge transport phenomena in 2DMs with nanoscale resolution. This chapter illustrates some case studies of C-AFM applications to graphene, MoS2 and h-BN. Furthermore, the results of the nanoscale electrical characterization have been correlated to the behavior of macroscopic devices fabricated on these materials.