PME Special Quantum Seminar- Eric Pop

I will present my (biased!) perspective of what two-dimensional (2D) materials could be good for. For example, they could be good for applications where their ultrathin nature provides distinct advantages, like flexible electronics [1], lightweight solar cells [2], or nanoscale transistors [3]. They may not be good where conventional materials work sufficiently well, or where integration costs are too high. 2D semiconductors could play a role in energy-efficient 3D-integrated electronics [4], as monolayer transistors with low leakage, used to access high-density memory [5], leveraging advances in topological interconnects [6]. Recent efforts from our group [7-10] and others [11] have demonstrated well-behaved monolayer transistors which can rival conventional semiconductors, and we found the 2D performance can be further enhanced by strain [10,12]. I will also describe some unconventional applications of 2D materials as thermal insulators [13], heat spreaders [14], and thermal switches [15]. Combined, these studies reveal fundamental limits and some uses for 2D materials, which take advantage of their unique properties.