Abstract: Engineering interactions between distinct electronic phases can present new opportunities to discover and control emergent quantum phenomena. In this seminar, I will discuss our group's efforts to realize such interactions through the design of novel interfaces in bulk and mesoscale quantum materials.
I will first introduce a growing family of transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) bulk van der Waals (vdW) superlattices, where layer-selective chemical substitution provides a versatile method for tailoring the electronic behavior of TMD layers within high-quality bulk heterostructures. I will focus on our recent work demonstrating how layer-selective rare-earth substitution can dramatically alter the electronic behavior of the TMD monolayers. I will then highlight our broader efforts to expand the ways in which we manipulate and assemble interfaces at the mesoscale, including techniques for reconfiguring vdW heterostructures, methods for creating lateral interfaces between crystalline metals, and potential strategies for defining interfaces in the absence of crystallographic or compositional discontinuities.