Novel Atomically Materials formed via Confinement Heteroepitaxy

The last decade has seen an exponential growth in the science and technology of two-dimensional materials. Beyond graphene, there is a huge variety of layered materials that range in properties from insulating to superconducting. Furthermore, heterogeneous stacking of 2D materials also allows for additional “dimensionality” for band structure engineering. In this talk, I will discuss recent breakthroughs in two-dimensional atomic layer synthesis and properties, including novel 2D heterostructures and realization of unique 2D allotropes of 3D materials (e.g. 2D metals, nitride, oxides). I will introduce a novel synthesis method, dubbed confinement heteroepitaxy (CHet), that utilizes graphene to enable the creation of atomically thin metals, enabling a new platform for creating artificial quantum lattices with atomically sharp interfaces and designed properties. By shrinking these traditional metals to atomically thin structures, we find that their properties are completely different than their bulk counterparts, lending themselves to unique quantum and optical applications not possible before.