Shedding Light on Artificial Quantum Materials

Quantum materials host a vast array of emergent electronic phenomena, including high-temperature superconductivity, colossal magnetoresistance, and nanoscale charge / spin ordering. One of the grand challenges of this field is to be able to precisely and deterministically manipulate the properties of quantum materials. To achieve this control, we employ molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) to synthesize "artificial quantum materials" in thin film form with atomic layer precision, which allows for new control knobs such as the creation of interfaces, the stabilization of metastable phases, or imposing large epitaxial strains. We combine MBE growth with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) which provides direct insights into the electronic structure and quantum many-body interactions to understand how strong quantum many-body interactions can influence the electronic and magnetic properties of quantum materials. In particular, I will focus on some very recent developments where we have used interfacial engineering and thin film epitaxy to manipulate and control exotic superconductors, including the odd-parity superconductor Sr₂RuO₄ and monolayer FeSe grown on SrTiO₃.