Control of Magneto-Electric Phenomena in altered Two-dimensional Quantum Materials and Heterostructures

The advent of atomically thin graphene, other two-dimensional (2D) materials, and their van der Waals heterostructures with a wide variety of properties, ranging from metallic, semiconducting, and insulating to magnetic and superconducting behaviors, offers unprecedented possibilities for tuning the dynamic degrees of freedom of charge, spin, and orbital and their exchange and correlations.

To explore these possibilities, in this project, we will (i) Realize altered 2D quantum materials (2DQM) via straining, proximity effect, and newly developed direct-grown van der Waals heterostructures. (ii) Uncover strain control of charge and spin phenomena in 2DQM. (iii) Achieve unique orbital and topological Hall transport in 2D heterostructures and explore quantum phases in them at milli-Kelvin and high-magnetic field.

The project’s success is expected to unlock new experimental pathways for manipulating magneto-electric phenomena of spin and orbital transport and ordering in altered 2D materials and their heterostructures, shedding new light on spin, orbital, and correlation physics.

In addition, it can lead to exploring and harnessing new quantum charge and spin phases that can have implications for future quantum sensing and technologies.