The miniaturization of electronic devices and the emergence of materials with interfaces at the nano- and micro-meter length scales are calling for new methods to store and carry information, beyond conventional electronics. We study how new states of matter can be prepared using a combination of space- and time-resolved spectroscopies. Our central focus is two-dimensional materials stacked into heterostructures and devices, which allows for unconventional properties such as ultra-efficient carrier dynamics, superconductivity, magnetism and topology to be engineered into novel multifunctional hybrid materials.
Our group runs a beamline at the ASTRID2 light source, which uses the technique angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with micro- and nano-scale spatial resolution (so-called microARPES and nanoARPES). The technique provides a direct visualization of the energy- and momentum-resolved electronic structure of heterostructures and operating devices. Beamtimes at external laser facilities provide additional capabilities, such as the study of light-matter interactions on femtosecond time-scales, allowing for disentangling fundamental interactions between electrons, phonons and other types of quasiparticles. Ultimately, our aim is to explain, predict and design new macroscopic properties of materials based on the microscopic interactions we can probe.