Yinqiu (Peyton) Shi is a research associate in the QNC-MBE Lab and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Theology (Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy) at Martin Luther University College. She earned her PhD in Physics (Nanotechnology) under the supervision of Professor Zbig Wasilewski in 2021 and completed her BSc (Hons) in Physics at the University of Toronto in 2014. Peyton’s research focuses on the epitaxial growth of InSb quantum well (QW) heterostructures for the experimental realization of Majorana bound states (MBS). This work is a collaborative project with the Coherent Spintronics Group at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and is partly supported by the Transformative Quantum Technologies (TQT) program.
Peyton’s research interests include molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth of Sb-based materials—particularly InSb QW systems—fundamentals of crystal growth such as crystalline defect formation and surface morphology, optimization of MBE-grown metamorphic buffers, and nanomaterial characterization using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Her work also encompasses quantum transport properties of two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) and semiconductor–superconductor junctions, as well as topological quantum information processing.
Born and raised in Nanjing, a historic city in China, Peyton enjoys artistic pursuits outside of her scientific work, including painting, candle making, and plaster crafts. She also enjoys jogging, dancing, skiing, caring for her plants, and is an avid traveler with a love for adventure.