Atomically Thin Canvas for Quantum Simulation

Hongkun Park

Harvard University

Recent advances in materials growth and fabrication have enabled the preparation of

high-quality van der Waals heterostructures incorporating two-dimensional materials, such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers. In this presentation, I will describe our efforts to use these heterostructures as a "canvas" to realize new quantum optoelectronic devices for excitons and electrons and use them for quantum simulation. I will discuss how we improve the exciton's spectral/spatial uniformity and coherence and realize atomically thin mirrors and active metasurfaces. I will then describe the realization of electron Wigner crystal phases in these heterostructures without a magnetic field or moiré potential. I will present experimental evidence for long-standing theoretical predictions that the density-driven quantum melting of a Wigner crystal proceeds through intermediate phases characterized by a microscopic coexistence of crystal and liquid states. Our studies illustrate that the heterostructures made of atomically thin materials are an attractive solid-state platform for exploring novel excitonic and correlate-electron phenomena.