Transfer and beyond: emerging strategies and trends in two-dimensional material device fabrication

The field of two-dimensional (2D) materials has seen remarkable progress, driven by their exceptional electronic, optical, and mechanical properties. In addition to their intrinsic qualities, 2D materials are atomically thin and readily integrated with a wide range of devices, offering immense potential for next-generation on-chip technologies across various domains, beyond just electronics and optics. Central to the fabrication of 2D devices is the development of effective transfer methods, which are crucial for maintaining clean material interfaces and intact material properties. However, as some of the most fundamental techniques, transfer methods are incredibly diverse, making it challenging to navigate the various approaches. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the state-of-the-art transfer methods, including a preliminary discussion on high-quality 2D material preparation, along with evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of various transfer techniques. Furthermore, despite being a foundational field, there are still many significant tasks to be undertaken, with several bottlenecks awaiting breakthroughs. We also highlight emerging trends, such as reconfigurable transfer, all-transfer for chip manufacturing, and the application of transfer techniques to low-dimensional materials across broader research fields, such as chemistry, polariton, tribology, haptics, thermal transport, thermodynamic control, quantum science, neuromorphic computing, electrocatalysts, and energy, offering insights into future directions for 2D material integration.