Epitaxial Growth and Characterization of 2-Dimensional Quantum Materials

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This research program will build a Canadian capacity for the development and commercialization of novel quantum circuits through research excellence in 2D materials growth using the technique of metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). 2D materials have been studied intensely since the first successful fabrication of monolayer graphene - a single atomic layer of carbon in a hexagonal "honeycomb" lattice - and the study of graphene's remarkable quantum electronic properties which earned the 2010 Nobel Prize. 2D monolayers are typically produced by mechanical exfoliation (the Scotch Tape Technique), which involves manually peeling successively thinner flakes from a bulk crystal until eventually a single monolayer is found. The resulting flakes, though of very high quality, are extremely small and only identified through a laborious optical microscopy search, thus far limiting 2D materials to proof-of-concept devices. This program will develop growth and characterization techniques for large-area 2D films and heterostructures of graphene, hexagonal boron nitride and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). While graphene is a zero-gap semiconductor, the TMDs (WS2, WSe2, MoS2, MoSe2) are direct-bandgap semiconductors with strong visible and near-IR light emission, presenting exciting possibilities for optoelectronic device applications. Moreover, TMD crystals have two inequivalent electronic valleys which can be independently addressed with circularly-polarized light, opening up the entirely new field of "Valleytronics". In analogy with Spintronics, this presents fascinating opportunities for coherent manipulation of the valley polarization and ultra-sensitive sensing. Large-area growth is a key differentiator to accelerate 2D device development, providing a feasible route to large-scale integration and manufacturability. Our 2D-MOCVD system is the first in North America and only the third such system in the world, providing invaluable opportunities for HQPs to lead research on the frontlines of commercialization. The research effort leverages significant ($6M) investments from uOttawa and the Canada Foundation for Innovation, ensuring that the program is supported by world-class instrumentation. Materials excellence will be established and active collaborations will be built to leverage this capacity for the benefit of 2D and quantum researchers throughout Canada. This will significantly enhance Canada's innovation capability for quantum and neuromorphic computing, highly-integrated quantum sensors, circuits and potentially ultra-large-scale-integrated circuits beyond silicon. High-quality, large-area 2D films and heterostructures will provide opportunities for large experimental-matrix studies of device architectures on full wafers, greatly accelerating the scientific understanding of 2D quantum devices. This will lead to innovative, high-performance, low-power-consumption systems and the advancement of TRL towards commercialization.