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Realizing designer quantum matter in van der Waals heterostructures

Project description

Van der Waals heterostructures for quantum devices

Conventional materials often have complex structures that make engineering their electronic properties challenging. Van der Waals heterostructures offer a solution by providing a wide range of building blocks, enabling the intentional realisation of exotic quantum phases. The ERC-funded GETREAL project will use molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) to create heterostructures aimed at achieving unconventional superconductivity, artificial 2D multiferroic materials, and 2D quantum spin liquids. Low-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS) will be employed to characterise these heterostructures. The goal is to open new opportunities in fundamental condensed matter physics and advance the development of quantum devices with novel functionalities, keeping Europe at the forefront of the second quantum revolution.

Objective

Conventional materials hosting exotic quantum phases typically have complex atomic structures, inhomogeneities from defects, impurities, and dopants making it difficult to rationally engineer their electronic properties. This can be overcome using van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures that allow an almost arbitrary selection of the heterostructure building blocks, including metals and insulators, charge-density wave systems, superconductors, magnets, correlated insulators, and ferroelectrics. In a vdW heterostructure, the layers interact only through vdW forces and can keep their intrinsic properties. However, proximity effects cause properties to leak between the adjacent layers and allow creating exotic quantum mechanical phases that arise from the interactions between the layers. These key features have recently made it possible to realize exotic quantum phases by design and engineer responses that do not occur in natural materials. I will now exploit these features and fabricate heterostructures using molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) to target artificial heavy fermion heterostructures realizing unconventional superconductivity, artificial 2D multiferroic materials, and 2D quantum spin liquids. The atomic scale geometry and electronic properties of the resulting heterostructures will be characterized using low-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS).

These designer heterostructures will have engineered electronic phenomena with atomically precise structures and controlled interactions. This will lead to exciting new opportunities in fundamental condensed matter physics and subsequently, in quantum devices realizing completely new functionalities. They answer the pressing need for novel quantum materials with tuneable properties to enable completely new types of approaches in quantum technologies. This will keep Europe at the forefront of the second quantum revolution and create yet unimagined future breakthrough technologies.

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2023-ADG

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Host institution

AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 2 498 623,00
Address
OTAKAARI 1
02150 Espoo
Finland

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Region
Manner-Suomi Helsinki-Uusimaa Helsinki-Uusimaa
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 2 498 623,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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