Extending the exquisite control of molecular beam epitaxy to the other dimensions: Nanostructure engineering

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is a widely used tool for growing nanostructures and thin films, offering precise control and a near defect-free growth environment. While state-of-the-art MBE-grown materials remain primarily limited to small-scale research settings, the transition toward scalable production is critical for enabling real-world device applications. This Perspective highlights recent developments in nanostructures, which include quantum dots, van der Waals materials, and nanoparticle inclusions, and discusses techniques for integrating them into devices such as emitters and waveguides. It further explores emerging approaches for the fabrication of 3D nanostructures in predefined positions, incorporating semi-metals in semiconductors, and their subsequent large-scale integration into quantum devices.