Advances in synthesis and quantum applications of 2D materials

Abstract: 2D materials offer a unique opportunity to achieve new device functionality and realize novel quantum states. Synthesizing high-purity starting materials is key to achieving these goals. Our synthesis efforts focus on (1) growing ultra-pure crystals of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), and identifying the different types of point defects within these crystals; and (2) new strategies for graphene CVD synthesis that dramatically improve speed, reproducibility, and quality. These improvements in quality lead to dramatically improved performance and open the door to applications in quantum devices. In particular, we are exploring the use of 2D materials for compact qubit architectures in which a single heterostructure can act as a capacitor and Josephson junction.

Bio: James Hone is Wang Fong-Jen Professor and Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University. He received his BS in physics from Yale in 1990, and PhD in experimental condensed matter physics from UC Berkeley in 1998. He did postdoctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania and as a Millikan Fellow at Caltech, and joined the Columbia faculty in 2003. He was director of Columbia’s Materials Science Research and Engineering Center (MRSEC) from 2014-2021. He is the recipient of the 2023 APS McGroddy Prize for New Materials.