2D Materials

The discovery of graphene, an atomically thin crystal one carbon atom high, has opened a new world of 2D materials whose properties span from metals to insulators. This makes them ideal as components for ultrathin, ultraflexible circuits with exceptionally low power-consumption, or, under the umbrella of quantum information processing, for radically different approaches to computing and information processing. Remarkably, the electronic properties can be tailored almost at will by combining layers of different 2D materials like Lego bricks, even accessing exotic phenomena such as superconductivity.

In LabMontiTM, we investigate how the electronic structure and the ultrafast electron dynamics may be understood and tailored to create new devices, including single quantum emitters, ultrafast switches and green low-power electronics. We make use of our spatially resolved momentum microscope, the first of its kind in North America, and photoelectron spectroscopy to investigate these materials. In order to access the very shortest timescales below 10-15 s, we use advanced x-ray spectroscopies, work that we carry out at the Stanford Synchotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL-SLAC).

We find that the combination of 2D materials with organic semiconductors presents an additional path towards tailor-made electronic properties. When modifying the 2D materials with organics, we discovered e.g. that this allows us to control also electron spin, doping or excitations.