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GeS and GeSe are 2D semiconductors with band gaps in the near infrared and predicted high carrier mobility. We find that excitation with 800 nm pulses results in long-lived free photocarriers, persisting for hundreds of picoseconds, in GeS and GeSe noribbons. We also demonstrate that zerovalent Cu intercalation is an effective tool for tuning the photoconductive response. Intercalation of ~ 3 atomic % of zerovalent Cu reduces the carrier lifetime in GeSe and GeS. In GeS, it also shortens the photoconductivity rise and improves carrier mobility. 

Quantum cascade laser (QCL) is becoming the leading laser source in the mid-infrared and terahertz range due to its rapid development in power, efficiency, and spectral covering range. Owing to its unique intersubband transition and fast carrier lifetime, QCL possesses strong nonlinear susceptibilities that makes it the ideal platform for a variety of nonlinear optical generations. Among this, terahertz (THz) source based on difference-frequency generation (DFG) and frequency comb based on four wave mixing effect are the most exciting phenomena which could potentially revolutionize spectroscopy in mid-infrared (mid-IR) and THz spectral range. In this paper, we will briefly discuss the recent progress of our research. This includes high power high efficiency QCLs, high power room temperature THz sources based on DFG-QCL, room temperature THz frequency comb, and injection locking of high-power QCL frequency combs. The developed QCLs are great candidates as next generation mid-infrared source for spectroscopy and sensing. 

Band structure, strain, and polarization engineering of nitride heterostructures open unparalleled opportunities for quantum sensing in the infrared. Intersubband absorption and photoluminescence are employed to correlate structure with optical properties of nonpolar strain-balanced InGaN/AlGaN nanostructures grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. Mid-infrared intersubband transitions in m-plane (In)AlxGa1-xN/In0.16Ga0.84N (0.19x0.3) multi-quantum wells were observed for the first time in the range of 3.4-5.1 μm (244-360 meV). Direct and attenuated total-reflection infrared absorption measurements are interpreted using structural information revealed by high-resolution x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microanalysis. The experimental intersubband energies are better reproduced by calculations using the local-density approximation than the Hartree-Fock approximation for the exchange-correlation correction. The effect of charge density, quantum well width, and barrier alloy composition on the intersubband transition energy was examined to evaluate the potential of this material for practical infrared applications. Temperature-dependent continuous-wave and time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) measurements are also investigated to probe carrier localization and recombination in m-plane InGaN/AlGaN quantum wells. Average localization depths of 21 meV and 40 meV were estimated for the undoped and doped structures, respectively. Using TRPL, dual localization centers were identified in undoped structures, while a single type of localization centers was found in doped structures. At 2 K, a fast decay time of approximately 0.3ns was measured for both undoped and doped structures, while a longer decay time of 2.2 ns was found only for the undoped sample. TRPL in magnetic field was explored to examine the effect of doping sheets on carrier dynamics. 

Parafermions or Fibonacci anyons leading to universal quantum computing, require strongly interacting systems. A leading contender is the fractional quantum Hall effect, where helical channels can arise from counterpropagating chiral modes. These modes have been considered weakly interacting. However, experiments on transport in helical channels in the fractional quantum Hall effect at a 2/3 filling shows current passing through helical channels on the boundary between polarized and unpolarized quantum Hall liquids nine-fold smaller than expected. This current can increase three-fold when nuclei near the boundary are spin polarized. We develop a microscopic theory of strongly interacting helical states and show that emerging helical Luttinger liquid manifests itself as unequally populated charge, spin and neutral modes in polarized and unpolarized fractional quantum Hall liquids. We show that at strong coupling counter-propagating modes of opposite spin polarization emerge at the sample edges, providing a viable path for generating proximity topological superconductivity and parafermions. Current, calculated in strongly interacting picture is in agreement with the experimental data. 

Neuromorphic computing captures the quintessential neural behaviors of the brain and is a promising candidate for the beyond-von Neumann computer architectures, featuring low power consumption and high parallelism. The neuronal lateral inhibition feature, closely associated with the biological receptive eld, is crucial to neuronal competition in the nervous system as well as its neuromorphic hardware counterpart. The domain wall - magnetic tunnel junction (DW-MTJ) neuron is an emerging spintronic articial neuron device exhibiting intrinsic lateral inhibition. This work discusses lateral inhibition mechanism of the DW-MTJ neuron and shows by micromagnetic simulation that lateral inhibition is eciently enhanced by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI). 

Majorana zero modes (MZMs) are expected to emerge in material heterostructures combining superconductivity, ferromagnetism, and spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Particularly, inducing superconductivity and magnetic exchange interactions in well-defined Shockley surface states (SS) of high quality ultrathin Au(111) layers, which intrinsically have strong SOC, has been predicted as an excellent platform for MBS. In this talk, our success in creating such heterostructure in epitaxially grown Au(111) heterostructures will be presented. Signatures of superconductivity induced in the two-dimensional SS of Au(111) thin film are observed by means of electron tunneling spectroscopy. The behavior of such superconducting state under a planar Zeeman field will be shown. Evidence of a pair of MZMs in a fabricated Au(111) nanowire system will be demonstrated.