Research

• 2D Correlated Electron Materials

Electron correlations play a fundamental role on quantum phenomena ranging from magnetism, superconductivity to antiferromagnetic Mott insulators, high-Tc superconductors and frustrated spin systems. In our lab, we aim to explore the physics of correlated electron in 2D materials. Our uniquely designed MBE system allows us to precisely control the structural symmetry and interface of 2D materials, which often dictates emerging quantum phases due to correlation effects.

• Topological Order in 2D Materials

Structural distortion and strong spin-orbit coupling in transition metal dichalcogenides are shown to generate topological orders in 2D atomically thin materials. The resulting topological gap is large, which could lead to 2D topological insulators that function at room temperature. We synthesize topological 2D materials and their heterostructures utilizing MBE. Quantum tunneling spectroscopy and quantum transport are exploit to investigate the topological phenomena.

• Quantum quasiparticles at low dimension

Novel topological quasiparticles will emerge when the dimension of a topological material, for example a topological superconductor, is comparable to the coherence length of the edge channels. Using an uniquely designed MBE-milling system, we aim to fabricate low dimensional topological materials such as nanowires etc. Superconducting quasiparticle tunneling and Josephson tunneling will be applied to probe the emerging quasiparticle states.