E-Mail IMAGE: Image of a heterotube diode: This device contains a MoS2 semiconductor shell (blue), over the insulator hBN shell (purple), over the carbon nanotube core (green) of the heteronanotube covered with... view more Credit: ELIZABETH FLORES-GOMEZ MURRAY/ PENN STATE The recent synthesis of one-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures, a type of heterostructure made by layering two-dimensional materials that are one atom thick, may lead to new, miniaturized electronics that are currently not possible, according to a team of Penn State and University of Tokyo researchers. Engineers commonly produce heterostructures to achieve new device properties that are not available in a single material. A van der Waals heterostructure is one made of 2D materials that are stacked directly on top of each other like Lego-blocks or a sandwich. The van der Waals force, which is an attractive force between uncharged molecules or atoms, holds the materials together.