Overview
Materials are often intentionally modified to alter their properties and tailor them for a specific use. While there are several ways to achieve this depending on the application (e.g., doping in semiconductors), a strikingly novel way is through the proximity effect. Here, thin film or two-dimensional materials with entirely different electronic and magnetic properties are placed in close proximity to one another giving rise to collective properties that are radically different from the sum of the individual constituents. For example, conventional superconductors proximity coupled to tailored magnetic textured materials can give rise to an entirely new form of superconductivity. This unconventional superconductivity is mediated by spin polarised Cooper pairs with parallel spins in contrast to the anti-parallel spin-zero Cooper pairs in conventional superconductors. Developments in this direction in the last decade have triggered new approaches to ultra-low dissipation computing. You can read more about these developments in my article and video in Physics World.
I am interested in the proximity effect in a variety of material systems with different, often antagonistic, electronic and magnetic properties like superconductors, ferromagnets, topological insulators and materials with strong spin-orbit coupling. Starting from the synthesis of these materials using atomically-precise growth techniques, my research involves advanced characterisation and nanofabrication to understand, stabilise and utilise fragile quantum phases that arise in these hybrid systems.
I collaborate with several leading groups in the UK, Europe, India and USA. I am also a regular user of synchrotron facilities at the Advanced Light Source at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California.