Research

This research area exploits the ability of inorganic sheets to be bonded, stacked, and integrated onto arbitrary substrates to create heterogeneous materials and devices that cannot be realized using conventional growth techniques alone. The work addresses integration across highly mismatched materials in terms of structure, geometry, mechanical properties, and electronic functionality.

One major outcome is the demonstration of defect-free III-antimonide semiconductors integrated on silicon, enabling the first solar cells and infrared detectors based on III-Sb/Si platforms. These results represent important steps toward low-cost night-vision systems, thermo-photovoltaic devices, and multi-junction solar cells integrated with silicon electronics.

The research also includes pixelated photovoltaic devices, where thin-film solar cells are patterned into two-dimensional arrays of nearly defect-free pixels and transferred with high yield onto arbitrary substrates.

Another important direction involves bio-device integration using inorganic nanosheets. This includes studying cell behavior on unsupported inorganic sheets or sheets laminated onto very soft substrates, as well as creating hybrid platforms for cell and tissue culture. Related projects integrate oxide-based light emitters and graphene electrodes on soft substrates to enable stimulation of nerve regeneration after injury.

Additional work within this area includes graphene–germanium interfaces for enhanced electrical conductivity, extreme strain engineering of two-dimensional materials, and three-dimensional assembly of nanosheets for advanced device architectures.