Newsletters

Important Dates

August 9, 2021: Abstract submission open for 2022 APS March Meeting. Submission is via the web at https://www.aps.org/meetings/abstract/submit.cfm

August 13, 2021: Deadline for submitting invited speaker suggestions for DMP Focus Topics through ScholarOne site.

November 22, 2021: Application deadline for the DMP Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards and the DMP Post-Doctoral Travel Awards.

March 14 - March 18, 2022 (with tutorials, etc., March 13): APS March Meeting in Chicago, Illinois.

A Note from the Chair

I hope that you all have been having an enjoyable summer with a combination of vacations and science workshops. As we continue to navigate the roller-coaster ride of the COVID 19 pandemic, I hope all of you have found ways to be both safe and productive. This Summer Newsletter will serve to update you on the highlights of our forthcoming DMP activities and to seek your participation in these plans over the coming months in order to ensure their success.

Let me begin with the main event that has been keeping us busy: the APS March Meeting will be held from March 13-18, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. The 2022 DMP program will be organized by DMP Chair-Elect, Vivien Zapf, with help from the entire Executive Committee. As detailed in this newsletter, Vivien has assembled a strong line-up of 20 Focus Topics, each organized by leading scientists in their respective fields. These Focus Topics cover a diverse range of areas of contemporary interest in materials physics, including the exciting physics that arises at the intersection of materials science with topology, strong correlations, quantum information, and reduced dimensionality. We anticipate that the DMP Focus Topics will continue to attract outstanding invited and contributed talks as well as posters. You have all received an email from Vivien soliciting nominations for invited speakers for the Focus Topics sessions and you may have also received an email from individual topic organizers. We count on your input for the successful development of a strong Focus Topics program with an excellent set of diverse invited speakers. So, if you have not done so already, please do send in your nominations! The instructions are given later in this Newsletter.

I also urge you to discuss the Focus Topics descriptions with your students and colleagues, so that you can plan in advance about submitting your most exciting advances to relevant sessions. As you know, the March Meeting provides an excellent venue for both advancing the state of knowledge in our research areas as well as training beginning scientists in the skill sets that are so crucial for their professional development.

Another important DMP activity is the recognition of the achievements of senior and junior members of our community. I would like to thank my colleagues on the Executive Committee and members of DMP who chaired and served on selection committees for APS Fellows, the James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials, and the David Adler Lectureship in Materials Physics. They have all been hard at work over summer in selecting winners from the nominations that were made by DMP membership; the final selections will be announced by APS in late Fall. I am very grateful to the community for all their thoughtful nominations. I note that DMP and APS encourages nominations of women and members of under-represented minority groups for these prizes, awards, and fellowships.

DMP is also heavily invested in recognizing junior members of our community. You recently received the call for nominations for the Richard L. Greene Dissertation Award in Experimental Condensed Matter Materials Physics. The 2021 awardees are Ilya Belopolski, Princeton University, "For the discovery of the first 3D topological magnet and of several novel Weyl semi metals from ARPES experiments."  and Mallika Randeria, Princeton University, "For the discovery of and measurements on a quantum Hall nematic state on the surface of Bismuth from low temperature STM experiments." I urge you to send in new nominations by August 31, 2021. See www.aps.org/programs/honors/dissertation/greene.cfm for full details.

I would also like to remind everyone that student presenters at the March Meeting are invited to apply for a Stanford and Iris Ovshinsky Student Travel Award. Postdoctoral presenters are also invited to apply for a DMP Postdoctoral Travel Award. These highly competitive and prestigious awards are available to students and postdocs whose abstracts are submitted to DMP-sponsored contributed sessions. The awards provide travel support, and the awardees will be publicly recognized in our Reception at the March Meeting. Please watch out for emails from DMP later in Fall about the submission of nominations for these awards.

In the 2019 Summer Newsletter, we learned about the exciting development effort led by APS to establish the Millie Dresselhaus Fund for Science and Society. I am happy to note that DMP leadership has been at the forefront of this effort, with Dan Dessau (former DMP Chair) serving as chair of this APS development committee. Nitin Samarth, former DMP Chair, also serves on this committee. This endowment will support activities in the areas of Science and Society to honor Millie’s remarkable scientific career and inspiring legacy. We urge all DMP members to become part of this laudable cause to the best of their ability: no amount is too small! Detailed information may be found on the APS website at: https://www.aps.org/about/support/dresselhaus.cfm

Finally, I would like to recognize the members of the DMP Executive Committee who have recently completed their service. James Rondinelli, (Northwestern University) and Judith C. Yang, (University of Pittsburgh) have stepped down as Members at Large; Nitin Samarth (Penn State University) completed four years at the helm as Vice-Chair, Chair-Elect, Chair, and Past-Chair of the Division of Materials Physics. They have all selflessly given precious time and effort to better our community and their contributions have been invaluable. I thank them all for their service and in particular, Nitin, for his leadership and dedication.

I look forward to seeing everyone (hopefully in person!) at the 2022 March Meeting in Chicago!

Rachel S. Goldman,
DMP Chair

The DMP Executive Committee

Chair:  Rachel S. Goldman, University of Michigan (04/21 - 03/22)

Chair Elect: Vivien Zapf, Los Alamos Natl Lab (04/21 - 03/22)

Vice-Chair: Yuri Suzuki, Stanford University (04/21 - 03/22)

Past Chair: Toni Taylor, Los Alamos Natl Lab (04/21 - 03/22)

Councilor: Peter Schiffer, Yale University (01/21 - 12/23)

Secretary/Treasurer: Steve May, Drexel University (04/20 - 03/23)

Members-at-Large: 

Kyle Shen, Cornell University (04/19 – 03/22)
Oana Jurchescu, Wake Forest University (04/19 – 03/22)
Peter Fischer, Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab (04/20 – 03/23)
Anand Bhattacharya, Argonne Natl Lab (04/20 – 03/23)
Judy Cha, Yale University (04/21 – 03/24)
Jorge Muñoz, University of Texas at El Paso (04/21 – 03/24)

The Division of Materials Physics March Meeting Postdoctoral Travel Awards

To recognize innovative materials physics research by post-doctoral researchers, the Division of Materials Physics will again be sponsoring March Meeting Postdoctoral Travel Awards for those presenting at the APS March Meeting.

We anticipate that there will be up to eight Travel Awards in 2022 to support participation in DMP Focus Topic sessions at the APS March Meeting sessions. The selection will be based on the research quality, the impact of the research at the March Meeting and the innovative contribution of the postdoctoral researcher. The selection committee will consist of members of the DMP Executive Committee.

Postdoctoral researchers interested in being considered for an award must apply online. The application deadline is November 22, 2021; a link to the application site will be available on the DMP website closer to this deadline. Nominations of members belonging to groups traditionally underrepresented in physics, such as women, LGBT+ scientists, scientists who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), disabled scientists, and scientists from outside the United States are especially encouraged.

The Division of Materials Physics Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards

The Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards were established to assist the career of student researchers. The Awards are named after Stanley and Iris Ovshinsky, who had a very strong interest in, and commitment to, scientific education. The awards have been endowed by the Ovshinsky family, their colleagues at Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) companies and all their numerous friends from many social, intellectual and business relationships.

We anticipate that there will be ten Travel Awards and ten Honorable Mention recognitions each year to enable students to participate in the APS March Meeting sessions that are sponsored by the Division of Materials Physics. The selection will be based on merit and the selection committee will consist of members of the DMP Executive Committee.

Students interested in being considered for an award must apply online, and information can be found on the Division of Materials Physics pages under ‘Prizes and Awards’. The application deadline is November 22, 2021; a link to the application site will be available on the DMP website closer to this deadline.  Nominations of members belonging to groups traditionally underrepresented in physics, such as women, LGBT+ scientists, scientists who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), disabled scientists, and scientists from outside the United States are especially encouraged.

The recipients of the 2021 Ovshinsky Student Travel and Honorable Mention Awards as well as the 2021 Post-Doctoral Travel Awards were listed in the 2021 Winter DMP Newsletter.

Nominations for DMP Officers and Executive Committee Members

The DMP Officer election will be held late in 2021 to elect a Vice-Chair and two new at-large Executive Committee Members. According to the Bylaws, the Nominating Committee shall nominate at least two candidates for the ballot for each office. We are inviting your suggestions for candidates, which should be emailed to the DMP Past Chair, Toni Taylor and copied to the DMP Secretary, Steve May by September 17, 2021.

It is important to remember the membership of APS is diverse and global, so the Executive Committees of the APS should reflect that diversity. Nominations of women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and scientists from outside the United States are especially encouraged.

In addition, candidates can be directly nominated by petition of five percent of the membership of the Division. Such petitions must be received by the DMP Secretary/Treasurer, Steve May by October 1, 2021.

DMP Focus Topics for the 2022 APS March Meeting

The Division of Materials Physics is delighted to announce the program of DMP Focus Topics for the 2022 APS March Meeting (March 14 – March 18, 2022) in this Newsletter.

A Focus Topic generally consists of a series of sessions, each of which is typically seeded with one invited talk, the remainder of the session being composed of contributed presentations.

For the 2022 March Meeting, DMP is the lead organization unit on 20 different Focus Topics and co-sponsoring unit for an additional 21 (see lists below).

You have all received an email from Chair-elect Vivien Zapf soliciting nominations for invited speakers for the Focus Topics sessions and may have also received an email from individual topic organizers. We count on your input for the successful development of a strong Focus Topic program with an excellent set of diverse invited speakers. So, if you have not done so already, please do send in your nominations! Your nomination will go to the organizers of the Focus Topic for which you have suggested a candidate and will aid the organizers in their selection of invited speakers.

Deadline: Aug. 13, 2021

Submission: https://march.aps.org/nominations-2022/

In suggesting speakers please keep in mind that speakers who gave a technical invited talk at the 2021 March Meeting are ineligible.

The membership of APS is diverse and global, and the nominees for invited talks should reflect that diversity so that all are recognized for their impact on our community. Nominations of members belonging to groups traditionally underrepresented in physics, such as women, LGBT+ scientists, scientists who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), disabled scientists, and scientists from outside the United States are especially encouraged.

Finally, note that the contents of this Newsletter will be available electronically on the DMP website at https://engage.aps.org/dmp/home. Corrections or updates will also be posted at this location.

List of DMP-Sponsored or Co-Sponsored Focus Topics and Sorting Categories for the 2022 APS March Meeting

DMP-led Focus Topics

07.01.01 Topological materials: synthesis, characterization and modeling (DMP)
Organizers: Matthew Brahlek (Oak Ridge National Lab) brahlekm@ornl.gov; Fazel Tafti (Boston College) fazel.tafti@bc.edu; Jorn Venderbos (Drexel U) jwv34@drexel.edu

There has been explosive growth in the field of topological materials in which band structure anomalies give rise to novel gapless states in the bulk and on the boundaries of 3-dimensional (3D), 2D, and 1D systems. Moreover, the field has expanded to include topological phases in more complex materials such as Kondo systems, magnetic materials, and complex heterostructures capable of harboring exotic topologically nontrivial states of quantum matter. The realization of theoretical predictions and understanding of observed phenomena, however, depends greatly on sample quality. As such, there remain significant challenges in identifying and synthesizing materials that have properties amenable to the study of the bulk, surface and interface states of interest. This topic will focus on fundamental advances in the synthesis, characterization, theoretical modeling, and predictions of candidate topological materials aimed at guiding synthesis efforts. This will encompass all forms including single crystals, exfoliated and epitaxial thin films and heterostructures, and nanowires and nanoribbons. Of equal interest is the characterization of these samples using structural, transport, magnetic, optical, scanning probe, photoemission and other spectroscopic techniques, and related theoretical efforts to model key experimental observations.

07.01.02 Dirac and Weyl semimetals: materials and modeling (DMP)
Organizers: Jennifer Cano (Stony Brook U) jennifer.cano@stonybrook.edu; Leslie Schoop (Princeton U) lschoop@princeton.edu; Stephen Wilson (UC Santa Barbara) stephendwilson@ucsb.edu

The field of topological semimetals has developed dramatically over the past few years. After the initial prediction and discovery of Dirac and Weyl semimetals – materials whose low energy excitations can be described by the Dirac or Weyl equation of high-energy physics – the field has now expanded to include new low-energy excitations not possible in a high-energy setting. Semimetals with different degeneracy at crossing points or lines have been predicted. Transport theories and effects have been predicted and proposed in order to measure a small subset of the topological characteristics of the semimetals (such as Chern numbers). Furthermore, semimetals whose existence is guaranteed by filling constraints derived from the presence of certain orbitals at certain points in specific lattices have also been mentioned in the literature.

Distinct from conventional low carrier density systems, Dirac, Weyl and other semimetals are expected to possess exotic properties due to the nontrivial topologies of their electronic wave functions. A subset of the novel properties predicted include Berry phase contributions to transport properties, chiral anomaly, quantized nonlinear transport under circularly polarized light, protected Fermi arc surface states, suppressed scattering, optical control of topology, landau level spectroscopy, superconductivity, and non-local transport. While promising candidate materials exist for many but certainly not all of the topological semimetals, many phenomena have yet to be clearly resolved.

This focus topic aims to explore Dirac, Weyl and other new semimetals and the novel phenomena associated with them. We solicit contributions on predictions, new materials synthesis and characterization, new phenomena in topological semimetals, as well as studies on both conventional and unconventional semimetals, both in the bulk and on the surfaces of samples that accentuate the non-trivial topological character of the new semimetals.

07.01.03 Topological superconductivity: materials and modeling (DMP)
Organizers: David Cobden (University of Washington) cobden@uw.edu; Javad Shabani (NYU) js10080@nyu.edu; James Williams (UMD) jrwill@umd.edu

Topological superconductors are superconductors characterized by topological invariants associated with the band structure of the Bogoliubov quasiparticles. They have been a focus of significant experimental and theoretical efforts in view of their relevance to fundamental physical and mathematical concepts, and potential for quantum computation. Along with the search for bulk materials candidates, there has been much recent progress in studies of atomically thin films, artificially engineered structures, and the surfaces of bulk materials. This Focus Topic will cover topological superconductivity and the closely related non-centrosymmetric superconductivity in new experimental settings involving transition metal dichalcogenides, topological insulators, Weyl semi-metals, FeSe-based systems, graphene, engineered heterostructures, semiconducting nanowires, atomic chains and Shiba states, junctions with ferromagnets, quantum Hall states, and driven systems and Floquet states. This Focus Topic will also cover the new understanding of bulk materials candidates such as Sr2RuO4 and the emerging opportunities in platforms such as twisted bilayers of 2D materials, and advances in strategies for quantum information processing using topological superconductivity.

07.01.04 Magnetic topological materials (DMP, GMAG) [same as 10.01.09]
Organizers: Dustin Allen Gilbert (U. Tennessee Knoxville) dagilbert@utk.edu; Giovanni Finocchio (U. Messina) gfinocchio@unime.it; Ilya Belopolski (RIKEN, Japan) ilyab@alumni.princeton.edu

The intersection of long-range magnetic order with topological electronic states is developing into an exciting area in condensed matter physics. A variety of exotic quantum states have been predicted to emerge, such as the quantum anomalous Hall effect, Weyl semimetals, and axion insulators. There are many open questions that in these materials that have inspired rapid theoretical and experimental developments. For example, although the exciting phenomena listed above have been predicted, only a few experimental realizations have been found to date. However, there are several candidate materials that have been proposed or synthesized very recently, some in just the last year. This will be a focus session on theoretical predictions, experimental methods that are sensitive to the topological nature of magnetic materials, and the discovery of magnetic topological materials in single-crystal, thin film, and heterostructure morphologies.

08.01.02 Dopants and defects in semiconductors (DMP, DCOMP, FIAP) [same as 16.01.30]
Organizers: Elif Ertekin (U. Illinois Urbana Champaign) ertekin@illinois.edu; Mary Ellen Zvanut (U Alabama Birmingham) mezvanut@uab.edu; Mike Scarpulla (U Utah)  scarpulla@eng.utah.edu

Defects profoundly affect electronic, optical, and other properties of semiconductors. They control charge carrier concentration, transport, and recombination rates. They also regulate mass-transport processes involved in migration, diffusion, and precipitation as well as energy level alignment and charge transfer at interfaces. The success of electronic and optoelectronic semiconductor devices has relied on the optimization of beneficial defects while mitigating unwanted ones. Understanding, characterizing, and controlling dopants and defects is essential for technologies such as light sources, detectors, power electronics, quantum devices, logic devices, memory, and solar cells. The focus of this topic is on the physics of dopants and defects in existing and emerging semiconductors, from bulk to atomic scales, encompassing point, line, and planar defects, including surfaces and interfaces. We solicit abstracts on experimental, computational, and theoretical investigations of the electronic, structural, optical, magnetic, and other properties of dopants and defects in elemental and compound semiconductors, whether in bulk crystals, polycrystals, or nanoscale structures and across applications.  We especially encourage submissions on (1) defect management in wide-band-gap materials such as diamond, SiC, group-III nitrides, and group-III oxides; (2) defects in inorganic semiconductors for photovoltaics, and (3) defects in two-dimensional materials for single photon emission and quantum sensing. In addition, we welcome abstracts on relevant techniques such as materials processing and advanced characterization.

08.01.03 Multiferroics, magnetoelectrics, spin-electric coupling, and ferroelectrics (DMP, DCOMP, FIAP) [same as 16.01.29]
Organizers: Manuel Bibes (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) manuel.bibes@cnrs-thales.fr;  Ying Hao (Eddie) Chu (National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University) yhc@nctu.edu.tw; Jiamian Hu (U Wisconsin-Madison) jhu238@wisc.edu

This focus topic covers the challenge of coupling magnetic and electric properties in diverse insulating materials as well as ferroelectricity in different materials classes.
Topics include:

  • Ferroelectricity in inorganic and organic materials
  • Bulk multiferroic and magnetoelectric oxides
  • Heterostructured magnetoelectrics such as thin film, pillar and nanostructured materials.
  • Metal-organic frameworks, organometallics, molecule-based materials, organic thin films and other soft materials that can exhibit magnetoelectric properties
  • Spin-electric coupling in single molecule magnets
  • Coupling of spin crossovers and spin state ordering to electric and strain properties of materials
  • Magnetoelectric domains and domain walls
  • Magnetoelectric coupling at surfaces
  • Band-filling and bandwidth control in complex oxides (a prerequisite to harnessing charge/orbital order, magnetic transitions and metal insulator transitions)
  • Other novel theoretical and experimental routes to multifunctional cross coupling of magnetic, electric and strain properties.

08.01.04 Metal Halide Perovskites – from Fundamentals to Applications (DMP, FIAP)
Organizers: Yana Vaynzof (TU Dresden) yana.vaynzof@tu-dresden.de; David S. Ginger (U Washington) dginger@uw.edu; Nir Tessler (Technion-Israel Inst. Tech) nir@ef.technion.ac.il

In the past decade, metal halide perovskites have attracted significant interest from the scientific community due to their excellent optoelectronic properties and remarkable performance in optoelectronic devices such as solar cells and light-emitting diodes.

While much progress has been made in understanding the fundamental physical and chemical properties of perovskites, many aspects of these materials remain under extensive debate. These include, for example, their defect physics, and the degree to which perovskites are defect tolerant. Similarly, the role of microstructure and grain boundaries remains unclear. These - and many other - open questions highlight that despite their high performance, much remains unknown about perovskite semiconductors.

Recent research efforts have also been devoted to tackling some of the challenges associated with the application of perovskite materials in electronic devices, namely stability, sustainability and reproducibility. Addressing these challenges by developing suitable mitigation strategies is of key importance for the future of this technology.

In this Focus Topic, we expect contributions on either experimental or modeling studies of the optical, electronic, structural and defect properties of metal halide perovskites.

Advancements in materials engineering and the development of practical applications are also encouraged.

09.01.01 Fe-based Superconductors (DMP, DCOMP) [same as 16.01.31]
Organizers: Ni Ni (U California Los Angeles) nini@physics.ucla.edu; Amalia Coldea (U Oxford) amalia.coldea@physics.ox.ac.uk; Andreas Kreisel (U Leipzig) kreisel@itp.uni-leipzig.de

More than a decade after their discovery, Fe-based superconductors (FeSCs) continue to fascinate the materials and condensed matter physics communities, not only due to their potential to lead to higher superconducting transition temperatures, but also as a platform to investigate correlated quantum matter. Considerable synthesis, experimental, and theoretical progress has been made in elucidating the defining properties of these materials, including the role of electron-electron interactions in shaping their normal state properties; the intertwining between different ordered states involving spin, orbital, charge, and lattice degrees of freedom; the relevance of nematicity, magnetism, and quantum criticality to the pairing interaction; and the unique effects associated with the multi-orbital nature of these systems. At the same time, there is progress in understanding the unifying principles causing superconductivity and finding connections with other unconventional superconductors such as cuprates, heavy fermions and organic charge-transfer salts. In recent years, topological phenomena in the normal state and the superconducting state have been explored in the FeSCs such that these systems allow additional insights into the role of different degrees of freedom for topological phases. In addition to advancing our fundamental understanding of superconductivity and correlated electron systems, the unique material parameters of FeSCs (relatively high Tc, low anisotropy, high critical fields) offer new approaches to the design of applications such as superconducting wires, magnets and thin-film devices. This focus topic will cover the pertinent recent developments in the materials growth, experimental measurements, and theoretical approaches, and survey the potential for discovering new applications and new superconducting systems with still higher transition temperatures.

11.01.01: 5d/4d transition metal systems (DMP)
Organizers: Gang Cao (U. Colorado Boulder) Gang.Cao@colorado.edu; Shalinee Chikara (National High Magnetic Field Lab, Florida State) schikara@magnet.fsu.edu; Craig Bridges (Oak Ridge National Lab) bridgesca@ornl.gov

Materials hosting 4d or 5d electrons occupy a unique niche in contemporary condensed matter physics due primarily to a combined effect of spin-orbit and Coulomb interactions. These materials offer wide-ranging opportunities for the discovery of new physics, such as exotic magnetism and insulating states, possible topological spin liquids and novel superconductivity, etc. However, the strong intertwinement of spin, charge and lattice degrees of freedom also pose daunting challenges for observing and calculating behaviors unique to these materials, especially in the regime of the strong spin-orbit interaction limit. This focus topic covers most recent experimental and theoretical developments on 4d/5d transition metal systems containing heavy elements, e.g. ruthenium, rhodium, osmium, iridium or others, emphasizing emergent states in these materials. The topic is not limited to oxides. Note that spin liquids are covered in GMAG’s Frustration topic.

11.01.02: Light-induced structural control of electronic phases (DMP)
Dominik Juraschek (Harvard U) djuraschek@seas.harvard.edu; M. Fechner (Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Hamburg, Germany) michael.fechner@mpsd.mpg.de; Wanzheng Hu (Boston U) wanzheng@bu.edu

The electronic properties of strongly correlated materials are exceptionally sensitive to changes in their crystal structure. Small perturbations of the lattice can produce novel phases of matter emerging from the intricate interplay of competing interactions. The control of atomic geometry is hence key to understanding these materials and establishing routes to functionalize their physical states. The development of new light sources and ultrafast probes has made it possible to induce changes in the crystal structure on ultrashort timescales, which enables the control and examination of non-equilibrium phases in a wide range of materials. Examples range from driving electronic and structural phase transitions to inducing ferroic orders and superconductivity. These demonstrations illuminate the various pathways for accessing hidden electronic states and address the ultimate time scales governing the formation and dynamics of correlated phases.

The focus session aims to create a platform for communicating high-impact developments in the light-induced electronic and structural dynamics of solid-state systems to a broad audience, involving theorists and experimentalists. Particular emphasis is placed on topics including ultrafast dynamics in correlated and low-dimensional materials, light-induced phase transitions, mode-selective control, and coherent and nonlinear processes.

12.01.01: 2D Materials: Synthesis, Heterostructures, and Defects (DMP, DCMP)
Organizers: Pengpeng Zhang (Michigan State U) zhangpe@msu.edu; Yeonwoong Eric Jung (U of Central Florida) yeonwoong.jung@ucf.edu; Salvador Barraza-Lopez (U Arkansas) sbarraza@uark.edu

Two-dimensional (2D) materials provide unparalleled opportunities to investigate emergent electronic phases as well as to develop diverse device applications. However, research on 2D materials still relies heavily on mechanical exfoliation, which does not provide control on the shape and thickness of the samples.  Thus, efforts to improve and understand direct synthesis of 2D materials must continue.  This focus topic will concentrate on scalable and controlled synthesis of 2D materials and their heterostructures, covering both experimental and computational approaches.  The focus topic will include synthesis efforts such as scalable synthesis of 2D materials, synthesis of new 2D materials, morphology control (thickness and size) and phase engineering of 2D materials, defect engineering (structural and chemical), interfacial effects on nucleation and crystallinity of 2D materials, and direct synthesis of vertical and lateral heterostructures. 

12.01.02: 2D Materials: Devices and Functionalities (DMP, DCOMP) [same as 16.01.32]
Organizers: Cheng Gong (U Maryland, College Park) gongc@umd.edu; Diana Qiu (Yale U) diana.qiu@yale.edu; Peide (Peter) Ye (Purdue U) yep@purdue.edu

2D materials cover the entire spectrum of electronic phases: from metallic to semiconducting phases, and from topologically-protected surface states to layer-dependent magnetic phases. For certain 2D materials, phase transitions between polymorphs can easily be controlled via strain, electron doping, intercalation, and temperature.  Thus, 2D materials and their heterostructures provide exciting opportunities for novel devices, which require improved understanding of intrinsic and extrinsic properties of 2D materials that are critical to the device functionality.  This focus topic will cover experimental and theoretical/computational work related to devices based on the growing array of 2D materials that exhibit a wide variety of behaviors.  We invite contributions on topics including: fabrication and modeling of devices that exploit unique properties of 2D materials, dopants and defects in 2D semiconductors, non-2D / 2D heterostructure devices, large-scale studies of device-to-device variabilities inherent to 2D materials, and interfacial, environmental, and system-based properties in the device applications of 2D materials.

12.01.03: 2D Materials: Advanced Characterization (DMP, GMAG) [same as 10.01.11]
Organizers: Kwabena Bediako (U California Berkeley) bediako@berkeley.edu; Pinshane Huang (U Illinois Urbana Champagin) pyhuang@illinois.edu; Christopher Gutiérrez (U California Los Angles) gutierrez@physics.ucla.edu

The ever-increasing class of 2D materials, with their various polymorphs, distinct electronic phases, and 2D heterostructures, require sophisticated characterization methods to both understand their emergent electronic and magnetic phases as well as establish structure-property relationships.  This focus topic will concentrate on advanced and novel characterization methods to probe structural, optical, electronic, magnetic, and other properties of 2D materials and heterostructures.  Characterization methods include, but are not limited to: advanced electron microscopy and spectroscopy (ex: 4D STEM, in situ techniques, ARPES, and momentum-resolved EELS), advanced optical microscopy and spectroscopy (nanoscale imaging, ultrafast time-resolved, non-linear), and various scanning probes, and multi-modal characterization methods.  Theory development for data interpretation, treatment of large data sets, and machine learning approaches applied to 2D material characterization are also relevant to this focus topic.

12.01.04: 2D Materials: Correlated states: Superconductivity, Density Waves, and Ferroelectricity (DMP) Organizers: Adam Wei Tsen (U. Waterloo) awtsen@uwaterloo.ca; Liuyan Zhao (U Michigan) lyzhao@umich.edu; Ke Wang (U Minnesota) kewang@umn.edu

This focus topic will concentrate on two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals materials, which exhibit novel emergent electronic phases such as superconductivity, charge density waves, ferroelectricity, and other correlated states. Recently, there has been much effort both in understanding the nature of these phases as well as manipulating them through tuning parameters such as dimensionality (i.e., sample thickness and/or interlayer coupling), strain, carrier doping, or proximity with other 2D materials. For instance, ultrathin NbSe2 exhibits Ising superconductivity well above the Pauli limit and a surprising two-fold symmetry with applied in-plane magnetic field. Majorana edge modes have further been reported in 2D NbSe2/CrBr3 heterostructures. 1T-TaS2 exhibits a Mott insulating state tied to commensurate charge ordering that is dependent on the layer stacking.  In angle-aligned heterostructures of bilayer graphene with hexagonal boron nitride, emergent ferroelectricity caused by the moiré potential has also been observed. The ability to synthesize, control, and investigate 2D materials with ever-increasing precision makes these systems ideal platforms for exploring novel correlated electronic phases.

13.01.01: Nanostructures and Metamaterials (DMP)
Organizers: Nicholas Xuanlai Fang (MIT), nicfang@mit.edu; Tony Low (U Minnesota) tlow@umn.edu; Bobacar Kante (U California Berkeley) bkante@berkeley.edu

Recent experimental, theoretical and computational advances have enabled the design and realization of micro-/nano-structured materials with novel, complex and often unusual electromagnetic properties unattainable from natural materials. Such nanostructures and metamaterials provide unique opportunities to manipulate electromagnetic radiation over a broad range of frequencies, from ultraviolet and visible to terahertz and microwave. These concepts have also been extended to enable acoustic/mechanical metamaterials and metasurfaces. The transition from three-dimensional nanostructures and metamaterials to planar two-dimensional metasurfaces further facilitates structure fabrication, material integration, novel functionality, and system miniaturization, thereby finding a wide range of potential applications. This focus topic will highlight recent progress in the physical understanding, design, fabrication, and applications of these artificial materials. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: nanophotonics, plasmonics, near-field and quantum optics, optofluidics, energy harvesting, and the emerging interface of condensed matter and materials physics with biological, chemical and neural sciences.

13.01.02: Electron, Exciton, and Phonon Transport in Nanostructures (DMP)
Organizers: Geoff Wehmeyer (Rice U) geoff.wehmeyer@rice.edu; Longji Cui (U Colorado Boulder) Longji.Cui@Colorado.edu; Diana Qiu (Yale U) diana.qiu@yale.edu

Understanding and controlling how heat, charge, and energy flow at the nanoscale is critical for realizing the potential of nanomaterials in next generation device technologies. Of particular challenge, and opportunity, is understanding how elementary excitations such as phonons, electrons, holes, excitons, and plasmons interact with each other and are influenced by interfaces, confinement, and quantum effects in nanostructures. This is particularly true for heterogeneous nanoscale materials and interfaces with varying degrees of electronic and phononic couplings, and distinct thermal and electrical impedances. Structural components used in hybrid nanostructures can be made of semiconductors, metals, molecules, liquids, etc.

Contributions are solicited in areas that reflect recent advances in experimental measurement, theory, and modeling of transport mechanisms in nanoscale materials and interfaces. Specific topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Electron-phonon coupling and heat generation by hot charge carriers
  • Dynamics of energy and charge flow in nanostructured materials
  • Ultrafast dynamics of charge carriers, excitons, and phonons in nanostructures and across nanoscale interfaces
  • Charge, heat, and exciton transport through metal-semiconductor interfaces, inorganic-organic interfaces, and molecular junctions
  • Correlating nanoscale interface structure & chemistry with charge, heat, and exciton transport
  • Non-equilibrium heat transport and phonon-bottleneck effects
  • Influence of dimensionality, nanostructuring, and surface states on charge, heat, and exciton transport
  • Energy transfer in hybrid nanomaterials including dots, wires, plates, polymers, etc
  • Exciton diffusion and transport in nanostructured materials for light harvesting and emission
  • Plasmonic nano- and meta-structures for light harvesting and concentration
  • Near-field heat transfer and energy conversion in nanogaps and nanodevices
  • Hybrid structures with interacting exciton and plasmon resonances
  • Hybrid nanomaterials for photo-catalytic applications utilizing excitons and plasmons

13.01.03: Complex Oxide Interfaces and Heterostructures (DMP)
Organizers: Ankit Disa (Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter) ankit.disa@mpsd.mpg.de; Charles Ahn (Yale) charles.ahn@yale.edu; Nicole Benedek (Cornell) nbenedek@cornell.edu

Emergent electronic and magnetic states at complex oxide interfaces raise exciting prospects for new fundamental physics and technological applications. These novel properties arise as a result of interfacial charge transfer, exchange coupling, orbital reconstructions, proximity effects, dimensionality, and mechanical and electric boundary conditions. This Focus Topic is dedicated to progress in the fabrication, methodologies, and knowledge in the field of complex oxide thin films, heterostructures, superlattices, and nanostructures. Synthesis, characterization, theory, and novel device physics are emphasized. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to:  the growth of novel oxide thin films and heterostructures; the control of magnetic, electronic, ordering, ionic conduction, phase transitions, interfacial superconductivity, multiferroicity, magnetotransport, spin-orbit coupling properties; and developments in theoretical prediction and materials-by-design approaches. Advances in techniques to probe and image electronic, structural, and magnetic states at heterostructure interfaces are also emphasized. Note that overlap exists with other DMP and GMAG focus sessions. As a rule of thumb, if complex oxides and their heterostructures are at the core of the investigation, then the talk is appropriate for this focus topic.

13.01.04: Materials for Quantum Information Science (DMP, DQI) [same as 17.01.26]
Organizers: Hannes Bernien (U Chicago) bernien@uchicago.edu; Prineha Narang (Harvard) prineha@seas.harvard.edu; 

Technologies for processing of information are at a cross-road. Until now, advances in information processing have been mainly achieved by miniaturization and integration, such as scaling down transistor-based semiconductor technologies and heterogeneous integration in an architecture, the traditional methodology is rapidly approaching its physical limits. A new class of information processing that explores possibilities beyond classical computing architectures is now underway with particular emphasis on quantum phenomena that complement existing computing architectures. Quantum information processing, revolutionizing ways of generation, transmission, and computation of information, must be physically implemented by appropriate materials. To that end, new materials and physical properties are needed along with close collaborations among physicists, materials scientists, and electrical engineers. This Focus Topic intersects the materials discovery, devices physics, and nanoscale structure communities for quantum information processing (QIP) within the common theme of understanding the underlying physical interactions in materials for quantum information processing. Given the exploratory nature of this field, contributions are solicited broadly among the following topics:

  • Superconducting materials and devices
  • Trapped ion systems
  • Solid-state artificial atoms (quantum dots, quantum wells)
  • Solid-state quantum defects (point-defects in wide-gap semiconductors, rare-earth ions)
  • 2D materials and defects in 2D materials
  • Topological materials
  • Hybrid quantum systems
  • Magnetic systems including molecular magnets and molecular spin qubits
  • Optical quantum computing devices
  • Biological, polymer, or inorganic materials for QIP
  • First principles theory/simulations of QIP materials.

Other ideas that may be exploratory and less well defined at this time are also encouraged; however, suitable talks for this focus topic should focus on the (quantum) materials and physics germane to QIP.

14.01.01: Fundamental electronic processes and the role of interfaces in organic semiconductor devices (DMP)
Organizers: Vitaly Podzorov (Rutgers) podzorov@physics.rutgers.edu; Suchi Guha (U Missouri) guhas@missouri.edu; Oksana Ostroverkhova (Oregon State U) oksana@science.oregonstate.edu

Weak intermolecular interactions governing the structure and microscopic charge and energy dynamics in organic molecular solids represent a challenge for establishing physical mechanisms that control optoelectronic properties of these materials. Development of next-generation organic optoelectronic devices, including high-performance transistors, solar cells, designer sensors and detectors, as well as bioelectronic devices, would require an in-depth understanding of these microscopic processes. This Focus Topic will convene to discuss new experimental and theoretical results aimed at the fundamental and applied (photo)physics underpinning the optoelectronic processes occurring in well-ordered organic semiconductor devices. Research of interest includes structural studies, epitaxial crystalline growth, structure-property relationships for charge carrier and exciton dynamics, strain engineering, electronic surface functionalization with molecular adlayers and dopants, monolayer assemblies, thin films, crystals, and nanostructures. A specific emphasis will be made on the role of surfaces and interfaces in the elementary electronic processes, including charge and exciton injection, recombination, exciton dissociation, as well as charge and exciton transport.

19.01.07: Tools and Techniques for Exploring Materials Physics at the Frontier of Time and Length Scales (DMP)
Organizers: Alexander Gray (Temple U) tuf78279@temple.edu; Yimei Zhu (Brookhaven National Lab) zhu@bnl.gov; Liuyan Zhao (U Michigan) lyzhao@umich.edu

The exploration of materials properties and the discovery of new materials is intimately connected with advances in tools that allow to synthesize, characterize, and model materials at fundamental length, time, and energy scales. Those scales have reached the level of atomic control, i.e. the constituents of any materials on the nanoscale, but recently, approaches to explore materials with atomic precision across multiple length, time and energy scales have gained increased interest. This includes the synthesis of multidimensional artificial materials that don’t exist in nature, materials far from equilibrium that only exist for ultrashort time scales and novel ways to characterize properties of quantum and nanosystems using unprecedented techniques. Computational efforts using high-performance tools are starting to provide essential support in this endeavor. State-of-the-art techniques using neutrons, fully coherent wave fronts at diffraction limits with electrons and photons, and novel advances with scanning probes are currently being developed and utilized by a growing community working in materials physics. This focus topic on recent advances in this important field that will provide a coherent view onto current capabilities and future perspective that are of interest to the broad materials physics community.

DMP Co-Sponsored Focus Topics led by other APS Units (submit invited talk nominations through primary sponsoring Unit)

01.01.02 Organic Electronics (DPOLY, FIAP, DMP) [same as 08.01.06]

01.01.16 Molecular Glasses (DPOLY, DSOFT, DCP, DMP) [same as 02.01.34, 05.01.10]

01.01.18 Polymers and Soft Solids at Interfaces: Tribology, Wear, Rheology and Interactions (DPOLY, DSOFT, GSNP, DFD, DMP) [same as 02.01.36, 03.01.39, 20.01.13]

01.01.27 Polymer Crystals and Crystallization (DPOLY, DSOFT, DMP) [same as 02.01.42]

04.01.08 Biomaterials: Structure, function, design (DBIO, DMP, DSOFT, DPOLY) [same as 02.01.47, 01.01.41]

08.01.07 Optical Spectroscopic Measurements of 2D Materials (FIAP, DMP, GIMS) [same as 19.01.06]

10.01.01 Magnetic Nanostructures: Materials and phenomena (GMAG, DMP)

10.01.02 Emergent Properties of Bulk Complex Oxides (GMAG, DMP, DCOMP) [same as 16.01.32]

10.01.03 Magnetic Oxide Thin Films and Heterostructures (GMAG, DMP, DCOMP) [same as 16.01.33]

10.01.04 Chiral Spin Textures and Dynamics, Including Skyrmions (GMAG, DMP)

10.01.05 Spin transport and Magnetization Dynamics in Metals-Based Systems (GMAG, DMP, FIAP) [same as 22.01.04]

10.01.06 Spin-Dependent Phenomena in Semiconductors, including 2D Materials and Topological Insulators (GMAG, DMP, FIAP, DCOMP) [same as 08.01.01, 16.01.36]

10.01.07 Frustrated Magnetism (GMAG, DMP)

10.01.08 Low-Dimensional and Molecular Magnetism (GMAG, DMP)

12.01.05 Computational Design and Discovery of Novel Materials (DMP, DCOMP) [same as 16.01.10]

16.01.01 Matter in extreme environments (DCOMP, DMP)

16.01.02 Building the bridge to exascale: applications and opportunities for materials, chemistry, and biology (DCOMP, DBIO, DCP, DPOLY, DMP, DAMOP) [same as 04.01.33, 05.01.14, 01.01.48, 06.01.08]

16.01.03 Electrons, phonons, electron-phonon scattering, and phononics (DCOMP, DMP)

16.01.04 First-principles modeling of excited-state phenomena in materials (DCOMP, DCP, DMP) [same as 05.01.15]

16.01.05 Machine learning for quantum matter (DCOMP, GDS, DMP) [same as 23.01.02]

16.01.13 Physics and effects on transport of ion-ion correlation in electrolyte materials (DCOMP, DCP, DMP) [same as 05.01.17]