We were delighted to welcome Prof. Bhaskaran Muralidharan from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay to the Cambridge Graphene Centre today as part of this week’s QAMSS Advanced Technology Lecture. His talk, titled “Unlocking Spin-Valley Locking Via Quantum Transport”, brought together staff and students interested in quantum transport, 2D materials and emerging device concepts. The lecture forms part of the continuing Friday series for the Michaelmas Term, which will run until 15 December.
Prof. Muralidharan gave a clear and engaging overview of spin-valley locking in two-dimensional materials, and explained how symmetry protection in these systems opens opportunities for future electronic and quantum devices. Starting from the fundamentals of quantum transport in mesoscopic systems, he showed how these physical principles connect to practical device modelling in electrical engineering.
He discussed several directions currently explored by his group, including:
symmetry-protected edge states in 2D materials and how they could be used in low-power devices
transistor concepts that rely on quantum field-effect transitions
the behaviour of Kramers-type spin-valley qubits in quantum dots and the conditions that allow long relaxation times
a unified modelling approach that helps interpret a wide range of recent experiments in the field
Prof. Muralidharan also highlighted broader developments in quantum transport modelling and how this work connects to topics such as spintronics and superconducting hybrid systems.
We are grateful to Prof. Muralidharan for visiting CGC and for delivering an excellent and informative lecture. The QAMSS Friday lecture series continues next week, and we look forward to welcoming our upcoming speakers.
