Atomically Precise Bottom‐Up Growth of Semiconducting Te Nanoribbons

Abstract The synthesis of semiconducting nanoribbons with atomic precision remains a formidable challenge, yet is critical for future downscaling of advanced logic and memory devices. Here, the successful epitaxial growth of atomically precise Te nanoribbons via a buffer‐layer engineering strategy on Cu(111) is demonstrated. An ultraflat blue phosphorene monolayer is first introduced onto the Cu surface to suppress the direct Cu─Te interfacial alloying. Subsequent Te deposition cleaves P─P bonds, inducing the generation of Cu 2 Te 2 with periodic trenches atop a Cu 2 P phase. This template guides the self‐assembly of Te into ordered arrays of three‐atom‐wide zigzag nanoribbons. Scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations reveal a semiconducting 1T‐MoS 2 ‐like structure with a bandgap of 0.51 eV and a mobility of ≈1000 cm 2 V −1 s −1 . Given the versatility of this buffer layer control strategy, it can establish a general paradigm for the precise synthesis of monoelemental nanoribbon structures with tailored chemical and electronic properties.