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The Princeton MRSEC has detected a unique quantum property of an elusive particle, the Majorana fermion that is notable for behaving simultaneously like matter and antimatter. Using enhanced scanning tunneling microscopy techniques, the team captured signals from the Majorana particle at both ends of an atomically thin iron wire stretched on the surface of a crystal of lead.

The University of Nebraska held its fifth Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physical Sciences on October 24-26, 2013 under the scientific theme “Nano Trek.”

In an experiment related to the theory of Luttinger Liquids (LLs), a team led by Princeton University physicists and chemists reports the realization of a one-dimensional linear array of LLs in a moiré superlattice – a new quantum state in an engineered structure made from a known material.

MIT MRSEC researchers, have created both polycrystalline and single-crystal films of iron-substituted metal oxides that show room temperature magnetism and magneto-optical properties depending on the oxygen pressure at which the films are grown and their resultant oxygen composition.

Researchers at the University of Texas - Austin have discovered a new method to separate valley index using a designed metasurface. Excitons that carry different valley index are routed toward different directions in real space and momentum space, and photons emitted go to different directions according to their helicity.

Roughness insensitive boundary magnetization is a new concept discovered by Nebraska MRSEC researchers. It is a unique feature of magnetoelectric antiferromagnets, i.e. materials in which the application of electric field induces a net magnetic moment. An important property of the boundary magnetization is that it can be switched between two states by applying an electrical voltage.

CCMR researchers have used mathematical methods, typically used in business forecasting, to suggest which combination of components will make the best solar cell materials in a “perovskite” arrangement. These materials are made in solution, essentially in a beaker, at room temperature. This makes them far more energy-conservative than traditional silicon solar cells. But researchers are spoiled for choice in terms of components that could be put into the “soup;” too many to make in the lab.

As new methods are established to synthesize atomically-thin quantum materials, it becomes necessary to develop a technique to take those materials and assemble them into complex structures.

Atomically-precise fabrication methods are critical for the development of next-generation technologies which rely on nanomaterials. New methods are particularly needed in van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures where it is necessary to individually address each molecular layer to form devices with nanometer thicknesses. The Illinois MRSEC has demonstrated a highly selective etching technique using graphene as a monolayer etch stop within vdW heterostructures. This technique is a versatile and simple nanofabrication process that bridges the challenging technological divide between atomic-precision and wafer scale uniformity.

Preparing students for careers inside and outside academia is a key mission for the Wisconsin MRSEC and its Advanced Materials Industrial Consortium (AMIC). AMIC sponsors student-led seed research projects to help students learn essential skills. AMIC companies suggest project areas, then company engineers work with MRSEC students to develop research proposals that leverage the student’s expertise.