Physicist Christian Schneider has received a prestigious Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council to explore the unusual properties of two-dimensional materials, also known as 2D materials. These extremely thin solids, often less than a billionth of a meter thick, exhibit unique optical and electronic properties that can be manipulated by twisting their crystal lattices against each other. Schneider’s project, “Dual Twist,” aims to develop special test arrangements to clarify the properties of these materials using light, with potential applications in new quantum technologies.
Schneider, a professor at the University of Oldenburg, has previously received funding from the ERC for his work on 2D materials. He has made significant breakthroughs, including making these materials coherent at room temperature. His team will focus on double layers of 2D materials, which offer more options than single-layer crystals, and examine their optical properties using special semiconductor materials and microcavities. The goal is to create new quantum states that could be used in applications such as quantum computers or quantum communication.
Unveiling the Secrets of Two-Dimensional Materials
The European Research Council has awarded a prestigious Consolidator Grant to physicist Christian Schneider, totaling around two million euros over five years. The grant will support his project “Dual Twist,” which focuses on the optical properties of two-dimensional materials and their potential applications in quantum technologies.
Two-dimensional (2D) materials are solids that are often less than a billionth of a meter thick and consist of only a few atomic layers. These materials exhibit unique physical properties, such as altered electrical conductivity compared to solid solids, and display interesting quantum phenomena. Schneider’s team has previously managed to make 2D materials coherent at extremely low temperatures and room temperature, which could serve as the basis for developing future versatile nanolasers.
The Power of Twistronics
In recent years, researchers have discovered that the optical, mechanical, and electronic properties of two-layer structures can be significantly altered by twisting their crystal lattices against each other. This phenomenon is known as “Twistronik.” A well-studied example of this is graphene, a special form of carbon. By twisting two layers of graphene against each other, researchers have created moiré structures that profoundly influence the behavior of electrons in the material. For instance, the material can be converted from an electrical conductor to an insulator or even a superconductor.
Schneider’s team is particularly interested in the optical properties of twisted double layers. They plan to prepare special semiconductor materials and place them between two closely spaced layers of other materials that reflect light particles like a mirror, creating a “microcavity.” This structure will allow them to stimulate the 2D materials under various conditions, such as extremely low temperatures or high magnetic fields, to create special quantum states that could be used in new applications like quantum computers or quantum communication.
Unlocking Quantum Secrets with Light
Another goal of the team is to investigate the properties of the examined materials using a special simulation technique. In solid-state physics, it is often challenging to find direct evidence of how electrons behave in a material under certain conditions. The 2D materials being studied are too complex to determine their properties using modern modeling methods. To overcome this limitation, the researchers plan to build a quantum simulator that replicates the examined materials with the help of light particles locked in microcavities.
Because the physical equations that describe the behavior of atoms resemble those that describe the behavior of light, it is possible to create analog structures. This approach will allow the team to directly observe under the microscope which quantum states arise and how different particles interact with each other. This should enable them to find the most interesting constellations in the real materials – and to tame quantum states that have so far been difficult to control and ultimately enable their use in quantum technologies.
A Leading Researcher in Quantum Materials
Christian Schneider has been a professor of quantum materials at the Oldenburg Institute for Physics since 2020. Previously, he headed a working group at the University of Würzburg, where he received a starting grant from the ERC in 2016 for his project “unlimit2D” totaling 1.5 million euros. In the cluster of excellence project “NaviSense,” with which the University of Oldenburg is applying in the excellence strategy, he is one of the most significantly involved researchers (PI).
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