Understanding topological pseudospin transport in van der Waals' materials

  • Mak, Kin Fai (PI)

Project: Research project

Project Details

Description

Because of symmetry, crystals often have degenerate valleys in the conduction or the valence band. This 'valley' degree of freedom, similar to electronic charge and spin, has been proposed as an information carrier for new classes of electronic and optoelectronic devices. The basic requirement of information processing is to be able to create and manipulate a flow of valley pseudospin, i.e. valley pseudospin current. Valley pseudospin currents have been demonstrated in recent experiments in monolayer molybdenum disulfide and graphene on hexagonal boron nitride. However, the key fundamental questions regarding the nature of valley pseudospin transport remain open. This project will investigate the importance of Berry curvature effects in valley pseudospin transport and explore regimes for quantized valley Hall conductivity and pure valley pseudospin currents. The study will rely on combined optical and electrical transport techniques to create, manipulate and detect valley pseudospin currents in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals' materials of hexagonal structure. The insights provided by this research will deepen the understanding of valley pseudospin transport in 2D and help the development of novel valley-based technologies.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date7/15/1512/31/17

Funding

  • Basic Energy Sciences: $102,277.00

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