Speaker bios

Prof. Ahadi’s group focuses on thin films and heterostructures of quantum materials. He is using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) to create and manipulate quantum materials. More specifically, the group is interested in the novel phases of matter at the intersection of non-trivial topology and emergent phenomena like superconductivity, magnetism and ferroelectricity. His group focuses on a wide range of transport phenomena and novel electronic device applications of high-quality thin films and heterostructures El Baggari and his lab members use the STEM microscope to examine the unexpected and unpredictable properties of quantum materials as they undergo super cooling and then manipulate the materials. The findings may one day help scientists design new electronic devices for applications in quantum computing, efficient memory, and renewable energy. His lab seeks to understand a broad class of compounds that exhibit superb electronic, magnetic Sieun’s research is to discover and realize new semiconductor materials with enhanced functional properties that can be utilized for energy-efficient high-power devices. Power-electronics seek to enhance energy efficiency by utilizing ultra-wide-band-gap (E g > 3.4 eV, UWBG) semiconductors. The state-of-the-art materials (e.g., AlGaN/AlN, diamond, Ga 2 O 3 ) are suffering from doping asymmetry and/or thermal management, which motivates alternative UWBG semiconductors. Through a high-throughput survey and first-principles calculation, Sieun discovered that materials having small cation radius, densely-packed crystal structure, and s-orbital conduction/valence bands tend to have wide E g but small effective mass that enables semiconductivity. Her research demonstrates the first synthesis of single crystalline rutile-GeO 2 thin films using molecular beam epitaxy. Her dissertation research provides opportunities to realize promising UWBG semiconductors to overcome the current challenges in power-electronics. Professor Yang’s research utilizes molecular beam epitaxy to engineer quantum materials layer-by-layer and characterizes the electronic properties of these materials using equilibrium and non-equilibrium photoemission spectroscopies. He studies the quantum phenomena emerging at material interfaces, such as interfacial superconductivity and topological orders.