We’re happy to celebrate the successful PhD defense of Dr. Josef Svetlik! After countless hours in the lab and at the keyboard, yesterday the big day was finally here: Josef presented and defended his work with clarity, insight, and confidence. As a small token of appreciation for his contributions and camaraderie over the years, the group honored his achievement with a custom-made doctoral hat. We hope he enjoys it as […]
Van der Waals heterostructures provide a versatile platform for tailoring electrical, magnetic, optical and spin transport properties via proximity effects. Hexagonal transition metal dichalcogenides induce valley Zeeman spin–orbit coupling in graphene, creating spin lifetime anisotropy between in-plane and out-of-plane spin orientations. However, in-plane spin lifetimes remain isotropic due to the inherent heterostructure’s three-fold symmetry. Here we demonstrate that pentagonal PdSe2, with its unique in-plane anisotropy, induces anisotropic gate-tunable spin–orbit coupling […]
Yesterday, we held our annual PhD workshop, featuring insightful talks by the group’s postdocs on key aspects of a successful PhD journey. Topics included scientific integrity, upcoming conferences and events in 2025, available research equipment on campus, and scientific project management. As a reward, we wrapped up the session with a pizza lunch and some informal discussions.
Since 2023, the group co-launched the ICN2 Quantum Synergy Lab involving the Theoretical and Computational Nanoscience Group of Prof. Stephan Roche and the Ultrafast Dynamics in Nanoscale Systems Group by Prof. K.-J. Tielrooij. In this shared laboratory, we rely on optical setups to study the opto-electronic and magneto-optical response of two dimensional quantum materials and their interactions in complex van der Waals heterostructures.
After a competitive application process, Victors Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) project starts today! Spin-obit torque heterostructures based on topological insulators and 2D materials (SORTIR) will explore the potential of 2DMs, such as topological insulators and transition metal dichalcogenides, as efficient spin sources for magnetic random access memory. By doing so, SORTIR hopes to significantly enhance spin-orbit torque efficiencies and enable high-density, low-consumption data storage. The goal is to unlock the […]
Non-volatile magnetic random-access memories (MRAMs), such as spin-transfer torque MRAM and next-generation spin–orbit torque MRAM, are emerging as key to enabling low-power technologies, which are expected to spread over large markets from embedded memories to the Internet of Things. Concurrently, the development and performances of devices based on two-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures bring ultracompact multilayer compounds with unprecedented material-engineering capabilities. Here we provide an overview of the current developments […]
The large variety of 2D materials and their co-integration in van der Waals heterostructures enable innovative device engineering. In addition, their atomically thin nature promotes the design of artificial quantum materials by proximity effects that originate from short-range interactions. Such a designer approach is particularly compelling for spintronics, which typically harnesses functionalities from thin layers of magnetic and non-magnetic materials and the interfaces between them. In our recent Nature Nanotechnology […]
Spintronic devices exploit the spin, as well as the charge, of electrons and could bring new capabilities to the microelectronics industry. However, in order for spintronic devices to meet the ever-increasing demands of the industry, innovation in terms of materials, processes and circuits are required. In an article in Nature Electronics, we review recent developments in spintronics that could soon have an impact on the microelectronics and information technology industry. […]
Spin–orbit coupling stands as a powerful tool to interconvert charge and spin currents and to manipulate the magnetization of magnetic materials through spin-torque phenomena. However, despite the diversity of existing bulk materials and the recent advent of interfacial and low-dimensional effects, control of this interconversion at room temperature remains elusive. In an article published in Nature Materials we demonstrate strongly enhanced room-temperature spin-to-charge interconversion in graphene driven by the proximity […]
We report in the journal Science a bottom-up method to synthesize nanoporous graphene comprising an ordered array of pores separated by ribbons, which can be tuned down to the 1-nanometer range. The size, density, morphology, and chemical composition of the pores are defined with atomic precision by the design of the molecular precursors. The electronic characterization further reveals a highly anisotropic electronic structure, where orthogonal one-dimensional electronic bands with an […]