Designing Excited States for Energy and Quantum-Information

Filipe H. da Jornada, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Stanford University

Friday, February 14, 2025 | 2 p.m. | 230 A Davis Hall

Abstract

Filipe da Jornada.

Electronic and optical properties of systems, such as linear responses, yield powerful fingerprints for characterizing materials. Recent progress in atomically thin materials, such as monolayer MoS₂, has shown how quantum effects and many-body interaction can be profoundly altered with dimensionality engineering, proximity effects, and materials selection.

In this talk, we will discuss new ways not only to understand, but also to modify excited-state properties in materials for quantum and energy applications using large-scale, parameter-free computer calculations. We will discuss the complex interplay between excitons and atom structure that emerge in twisted bilayer materials with moiré patterns. We will also discuss how optical excitations can be localized by proximity effects from a nearby material, such as ferroelectric twisted hBN, and give rise to novel excitonic states. We will conclude by mentioning future ways to understand the coupled flow of electrons and ions, with implications from photocatalysis to strongly driven materials.

Bio

Felipe Jornada's research aims at predicting and understanding excited-state phenomena in quantum and energy materials. In order to make reliable predictions on novel materials, he relies on high-performance computer calculations based on parameter-free, quantum-mechanical theories that are developed in his group. He is interested in studying fundamental aspects of these excitations – their lifetimes, dynamics, and stability/binding energies – and how they can be engineered in novel materials, such as nanostructured and low-dimensional systems. His ultimate goal is to use insights from atomistic calculations to rationally design new materials with applications in energy research, electronics, optoelectronics, and quantum technologies.

Felipe received his PhD in physics from UC Berkeley in 2017. Felipe joined the Stanford faculty in January 2020 and an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.