New types of electronics

We investigate different physical phenomena for their ability to create new types of electronic devices.
For example, magnetic degrees of freedom, such as spins and magnetization, could help lower the power consumption of electronics. We are using ultrathin barriers between magnetic layers to study the effect of magnetization on quantum mechanical tunneling and magnetoresistance.
New types of switching can be achieved in electronic devices that are inspired by the operation of the brain. We are investigating new compound materials systems in their ability to create such memristive effects with high precision and unprecedented tunability.
We are excited about the potential of light to carry information with high speed and large information density in order to replace conventional wires and interconnects. For this purpose, we study the interaction of light with electronic devices at the nanoscale and achieve unexpected behavior.
Quantum computing uses fundamentally different concepts from conventional electronics and we are investigating the entanglement and condition of single electrons toward that goal. We utilize single-atomic defects in diamond as a platform and are conducting advanced optical manipulation and characterization of their behavior.

Improving current electronics

Electronics has been shrinking for the last 70 years and has reached the nanoscale. In this regime, surface imperfections decrease the performance of traditional silicon-based devices and new strategies are needed. We investigate 2D materials, atomically thin layers, as potential replacements for silicon in future ultra-scaled transistors.
To understand if this is possible, fundamental questions about 2D materials integration has to be answered. We are currently focusing on lowering the resistance between 2D materials and contacts. We employ powerful, high-throughput synthesis and characterization methods to survey the large available space of different thermodynamic phases, compositions, and geometries toward their optimization.
We are developing new laser-based synthesis tools in collaboration with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to produce diverse nanostructures and scanning probe-based electrical measurement systems in collaboration with SMARACT GmbH to extract information from complex materials.

Enabling large-scale electronics

While increasing the performance of electronics is an important research direction, our lives could benefit from having more electronic devices available. Ubiquitous electronics envisions large networks of sensors, interfaces, and processors to assist in many aspects. For this purpose, new ways of creating electronic functionality is required that is more sustainable, economic, and unobtrusive.
We are studying the promise of nanostructure assemblies, i.e. the combination of large numbers of nanostructures, for such scalable electronics. A novel concept that could help with creating the required functionality lies in emergence where new functions arise from the interaction of many components. We have shown the utility of emergence in sensing displacement with high precision, giving rise to new mechanics-based sensors in such unlikely applications as IR detectors.
Our work is aiming at establishing new methods to produce nanomaterial assemblies and identifying their improvements. Graphene flake films were shown to produce superstrong assemblies if they are assembled edge-to-edge, enabling free-standing electronic films with nanometer thickness.