Electrical transport in quantum materials and devices

The student will explore several phenomena in quantum materials and devices using low-temperature, high magnetic field electrical transport experiments.

The first class of experiments will be on molecular electronic devices assembled using DNA. Devices are being assembled under EPSRC grants EP/P000479/1, EP/P000444/1, EP/N035496/1 and EP/N035496/2. The student will:
(i) use electron beam lithography to contact gold nanoparticle electrical contacts on the DNA-assembled devices;
(ii) characterize electrical transport properties of devices including empty nanogaps and devices including an active functional molecule in the gap, as a function of temperature and magnetic field;
(iii) study electrically-detected magnetic resonance in single-molecule devices (if the progress in earlier parts of the project is sufficient).

The second class of experiments builds on results reported in Nature Communications 9, 56 (2018). The student will:
(i) investigate modifying the filling of the surface state of the topological insulator SmB6 using ionic liquid gating, to measure the dependence of the surface state quasiparticle scattering time on band filling;
(ii) explore the possibility of measuring electrically-detected magnetic resonance of molecular spin scatterers applied to the surface of SmB6 via the conductivity of the surface state.