QuMat related seminar

Van der Waals heterostructures for designer quantum materials Speaker: Peter Liljeroth – Aalto University Host: CMI Colloquium, Ingmar Swart

Abstract:

 Naturally occurring materials exhibiting complex quantum phases often have intricate atomic structures, defects, impurities, and dopants, hindering the systematic manipulation of their electronic properties. This can be overcome through van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures, which make it possible to combine various materials, such as metals, insulators, superconductors, magnets, correlated insulators, and ferroelectrics. In a vdW heterostructure, layers interact through vdW forces, allowing them to maintain their inherent properties. Nevertheless, proximity effects may lead to the “leakage” of properties between adjacent layers, giving rise to the formation of unique quantum mechanical phases.

I will illustrate these principles by demonstrating the generation of artificial electronic states and visualizing emergent excitations in van der Waals heterostructures [1-4]. These examples underscore the adaptability of vdW heterostructures in realizing elusive quantum states that are challenging to discover and control in naturally occurring materials.

[1] S. Kezilebieke et al. Topological superconductivity in a vdW heterostructure, Nature 588, 424 (2020).

[2] V. Vaňo et al. Artificial heavy fermions in a vdW heterostructure, Nature 599, 582 (2021).

[3] S.C. Ganguli et al. Visualization of moiré magnons in monolayer ferromagnet, Nano Lett. 23, 3412-3417 (2023).

[4] M. Amini et al. Atomic-scale visualization of multiferroicity in monolayer NiI2, arXiv:2309.11217 (2023).

Back to the related seminars page