When
Where
TITLE
Quantum States of Excitons in 2D Semiconductor Heterostructures
ABSTRACT
Two dimensional (2D) semiconductors, such as MoSe2 and WSe2, host tightly bound excitons (electron-hole pairs) that interact strongly with light. These monolayer semiconductors can be stacked together to realize heterostructures that exhibit new excitonic effects. In this presentation, I will discuss the optical response of two different 2D semiconductor heterostructures. First, I will review the progress towards understanding coherent states of long-lived interlayer excitons in MoSe2 -WSe2 heterobilayers. I will discuss our recent measurements imaging superfluid excitons. Second, I will discuss how nano-patterning a gate on top of the heterostructure can realize quantum dot-like potentials. I will discuss our progress using nano-patterned gates to engineer new quantum states.
BIO
John Schaibley is a Professor of Physics and Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona (UA). He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan working under Duncan Steel, and did his postdoc with Xiaodong Xu at the University of Washington. He was an Assistant Professor of Physics at UA from 2016-2023, and promoted to Professor in 2026. He has won numerous awards including the AAPT Teaching Award, AFOSR Young Investigator Award, Science Foundation of Arizona’s Bisgrove Scholar Award, and Moore Foundation Experimental Physics Investigator Award. Schaibley is an experimental condensed matter physicist, with specific interests in quantum and optical effects in nanoscale semiconductors. Specifically, he investigates optical physics of 2D and 1D van der Waals materials and III-V quantum dots. His recent achievements include developing quantum dots based on 2D heterostructures, developing 2D semiconductor plasmonic modulators that realize slow-light effects, and imaging excitonic superfluidity.