Research

Research Overview

The Cavallo Research Group studies inorganic sheets and ultra-thin slabs of functional materials—including semiconductors, complex oxides, semimetals, and metals. By reducing materials to sheet-like geometries (from sub-nanometer to a few micrometers thick), we access physical behavior that differs from bulk materials and can be engineered through surfaces, interfaces, and deformation.

Key features of inorganic sheets that drive our work include:

  • Surface- and interface-dominated behavior due to high surface-to-volume ratio.
  • High deformability (bending, stretching, compression) while maintaining structural integrity, enabling strain engineering.
  • Stacking and bonding onto diverse substrates, supporting heterogeneous integration across mismatched materials.
  • Compatibility with standard top-down semiconductor processing for device fabrication and characterization.

Our research combines theoretical modeling, synthesis and processing, and advanced characterization to address fundamental science questions and enable applications in electromagnetic and terahertz devices, next-generation computing platforms, energy devices, and bio-integrated systems.

Our Research Areas

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Electromagnetic & Terahertz Nanosheet Devices

Development of nanosheet-based components for millimeter-wave and terahertz electronics, including slow-wave structures, THz sources, reconfigurable antennas, and multifunctional electromagnetic materials.

Inorganic Sheets for Next-Generation Computing

Defect-engineered semiconductors that use the spin of the electron rather than only charge to process, transfer, and store information, with a focus on screw dislocations in nanosheets for spin currents and spin qubits.​​

Heterogeneous Integration, Energy & Bio-Interfaces​

Stacking and bonding inorganic sheets on diverse substrates to create new energy devices, infrared detectors, strain-engineered 2D materials, and bio-integrated platforms for cells and tissues.​

Cross-Cutting Materials & Methods

Across all research, our work relies on a set of shared materials platforms and techniques:

Synthesis and Processing of Energy-Relevant Nanomembranes

Growth, release, transfer, and patterning of semiconductor and oxide nanomembranes for flexible and high-performance devices.

Solid-Phase Epitaxy of Complex Oxide Nanosheets

Studies of crystallization and solid-phase epitaxy in strained thin films and sheets of oxides such as SrTiO₃, Al₂O₃, and PrAl₂O₃.

Top-Down Micro and Nanofabrication

Use of standard semiconductor processing (lithography, etching, deposition) to define devices in nanosheets and integrate them with other materials.

Impact and Research Funding

Our research has led to publications in high-profile journals such as ACS Nano, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Nanoscale, PNAS, Small, and Applied Physics Letters, along with a growing portfolio of patents and patent applications that highlight the technological potential of inorganic sheets.

The group’s work is supported by extramural funding from agencies including the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Air Force Research Laboratory, as well as an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellowship and internal UNM grants.