PROGRAM

QN Seminar - Arthur Barnard: 'New tools for probing classical and quantum nanomaterials'

Date:

Time:

13:30 hrs

Location:

Room G (F207)

 

In this seminar, I will discuss two domains of nanoscale physics elucidated by new tools: thermal motion in nanomechanical structures and mesoscopic transport of Dirac electrons. By picking up individual carbon nanotubes and coupling them with electrostatic gates and optical cavities, we directly read-out non-equilibrium dynamics and observe real-time Brownian motion. We reveal surprising spectral dynamics obscured by existing measurement techniques, shedding light on the physics behind the unexpectedly low quality factor in room temperature carbon nanotube resonators. In the second part of this seminar, I will explain how to control the flow of electrons in graphene. Drawing from intuitions in ballistic transport and light optics, we produce collimated beams to quantitatively study angularly dependent phenomena such as Klein tunneling, and elucidate how electrons start to behave like a fluid as they interact more strongly.