Flexible metallic nanowires with self-adaptive contacts to semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayers

We report direct electron-beam sculpting of ultrathin nanowires connecting designated points within semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) monolayer. In-situ electrical measurements reveal the nanowires are intrinsically metallic. The nanowires remain conducting and maintain structural integrity as they undergo continuous electron-beam-induced rotations and flexing, indicating their self-adaptive connections to the monolayers. The observed mechanical behavior is explained by density-functional-theory calculations, which further predict that the metal-semiconductor contacts could be Ohmic to p-type TMDC monolayers. These metallic nanowires can, therefore, serve as interconnects in future flexible nano-circuits fabricated entirely within a monolayer.