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Boosting superconductivity in graphene bilayers

02-22-23

Nearly a decade ago, researchers heralded the discovery of a new wonder class of ultrathin materials with special optical and electrical properties that made it a potential rival for graphene, a form of carbon discovered in 2004 whose own special properties interest both scientists and engineers. Now, Caltech engineers have shown that one of these wonder materials, tungsten diselenide, is not just a rival to graphene but also a complement to it. [Caltech Story]

Tags: APhMS research highlights Stevan Nadj-Perge Cyprian Lewandowski Alex Thomson Yiran Zhang Robert Polski Jason Alicea Étienne Lantagne Hurtubise

Unusual Superconductivity Observed in Twisted Trilayer Graphene

07-08-22

The ability to turn superconductivity off and on with a literal flip of a switch in so-called "magic-angle twisted graphene" has allowed engineers to observe an unusual phenomenon that may shed new light on superconductivity in general. "While superconductors have been around for a long time, a remarkably new feature in twisted graphene bilayers and trilayers is that superconductivity in these materials can be turned on simply through the application of a voltage on a nearby electrode," says Stevan Nadj-Perge, Assistant Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science. [Caltech story]

Tags: APhMS Stevan Nadj-Perge Hyunjin Kim Youngjoon Choi Cyprian Lewandowski Alex Thomson Yiran Zhang Robert Polski Kenji Watanabe Takashi Taniguchi Jason Alicea

Superconducting Twisted Bilayer Graphene—Magic not Needed?

07-16-20

A new study shows that superconductivity in twisted bilayer graphene can exist away from the magic angle when coupled to a two-dimensional semiconductor. "Our observations were quite unexpected. It implies that we only scratched the surface of graphene twistronics. These are exciting times for the field," says Stevan Nadj-Perge, Assistant Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science. [Caltech story]

Tags: APhMS research highlights KNI Stevan Nadj-Perge

Professor Nadj-Perge Receives Sloan Research Fellowship

02-12-20

Stevan Nadj-Perge, Assistant Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science, has been awarded the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship for 2020. Recipients represent the most promising scientific researchers working today. Their achievements and potential place them among the next generation of scientific leaders. [Past fellows]

Tags: APhMS honors KNI Stevan Nadj-Perge

Finding the Magic in the Magic Angle

08-09-19

Stevan Nadj-Perge, Assistant Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science, and colleagues have built upon, the discovery of the "magic angle" for stacked sheets of graphene, by generating an image of the atomic structure and electronic properties of magic angle-twisted graphene, yielding new insight into the phenomenon by offering a more direct way of studying it. They have developed a new method of creating samples of magic angle-twisted graphene that can be used to align the two sheets of graphene very precisely while leaving it exposed for direct observation. [Caltech story]

Tags: APhMS research highlights Stevan Nadj-Perge

Caltech Awarded Federal Funding for Quantum Research

09-25-18

EAS Professors were among a small group of Caltech scientists and engineering who have won federal grants for research in quantum computing, and quantum networks. Professor Nadj-Perge (lead PI) along with co-PIs Professors Marco Bernardi and Andrei Faraon as well as co-investigator Professor Julia Greer have received funding for the program ”Quantum States in Layered Heterostructures Controlled by Electrostatic Fields and Strain," which is administered within the U.S. Department of Energy's Basic Energy Sciences division. Professor Austin Minnich is a co-PI of the program, "Quantum simulation of materials and molecules using quantum computation," which is part of the National Science Foundation's Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (RAISE)-Transformational Advances in Quantum Systems (TAQS) effort. [Caltech story]

Tags: APhMS research highlights MCE Julia Greer Austin Minnich Andrei Faraon Marco Bernardi Stevan Nadj-Perge

Sunash Sharma Receives 2018 Henry Ford II Scholar Award

06-22-18

Applied physics student Sunash Sharma, advised by Professor Stevan Nadj-Perge, is a recipient of the 2018 Henry Ford II Scholar Award. He has wide-ranging interests from biophysics to fluid mechanics to quantum computation. The Henry Ford II Scholar Award is funded under an endowment provided by the Ford Motor Company Fund. The award is made annually to engineering students with the best academic record at the end of the third year of undergraduate study.

Tags: APhMS honors Henry Ford II Scholar Award Stevan Nadj-Perge Sunash Sharma

Professor Nadj-Perge Named 2017 KNI-Wheatley Scholar

09-18-17

Stevan Nadj-Perge, Assistant Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science, has been named the 2017 KNI-Wheatley Scholar in Nanoscience for his proposal to develop a novel nanofabrication technique to integrate atomic size objects, such as atomic chains, into superconducting interferometer devices. [Nurturing Nanoscience]

Tags: APhMS honors KNI Stevan Nadj-Perge

Engineering Nanodevices to Store Information the Quantum Way

05-27-16

Stevan Nadj-Perge, Assistant Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science, is interested in creating a device that could harness the power of entangled particles within a usable technology. A large part of his research is focused on finding ways to store and process quantum information. Quantum information is very fragile and even the smallest amount of external noise messes up quantum states. There are various schemes that tackle this problem and postpone decoherence, but the one that he is most interested in involves Majorana fermions. Relatively recently theorists figured out how to engineer these particles in the lab. Nadj-Perge explains, “it turns out that, under certain conditions, when you combine certain materials and apply high magnetic fields at very cold temperatures, electrons will form a state that looks exactly as you would expect from Majorana fermions. Furthermore, such engineered states allow you to store quantum information in a way that postpones decoherence.” [Caltech story]

Tags: APhMS research highlights Stevan Nadj-Perge