Emerging 2D van der Waals compounds have gained increasing attention due to their unique electronic and optical properties, and have shown promise in sensing applications. The realization of sensing devices using these materials still faces several challenges. For example, it is critical to gain clear understandings of (1) the fundamental light-matter interactions and their relations to the atomic structures, which govern many key material properties and device performances; and (2) the coupling with other nanostructures and molecules, which is a required structure for sensing devices and systems.

In this webinar hosted by the Laser Systems Technical Group, Shengxi Huang will introduce new discoveries and pioneering works on these critical challenges, and novel applications of these materials in biochemical sensing. The first part of this talk presents light-matter interactions and techniques to augment material performance, such as 2D Janus transition metal dichalcogenides. The second part of this talk focuses on the interaction of 2D materials with organic molecules and related sensing applications. In particular, a novel enhancement effect of molecular Raman signals on 2D surface was discovered, which offers a new paradigm of biochemical sensing with high specificity, high multiplexity, and low noise. The selection rule for the 2D material substrates has been revealed, which is critical for device design. Two sensing applications for Alzheimer’s disease and respiratory viruses will also be discussed.

Subject Matter Level: Intermediate - Assumes basic knowledge of the topic

What You Will Learn:
• Optical spectroscopy of 2D materials
• Optical spectroscopy in biosensing application
• Phonons, photons, and electrons in nanomaterials

Who Should Attend:
• Researchers in the fields of nanomaterials, optics, and biosensing
• Academia, industry
• Students, postdocs, professionals

About the Presenter: Shengxi Huang from Rice University 

Shengxi Huang is an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University. Before joining Rice, she was an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University. Shengxi earned her PhD degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT in 2017, under the supervision of Profs. Mildred Dresselhaus and Jing Kong. Following that, she did postdoctoral research at Stanford University with Profs. Tony Heinz and Jonathan Fan. Shengxi is the recipient of multiple awards, including NSF CAREER Award, AFOSR Young Investigator Award, Johnson & Johnson STEM2D Scholar’s Award (6 awardees worldwide in 6 disciplines), Kavli Fellowship for Nanoscience, Jin Au Kong Award for Best PhD Thesis at MIT, and Ginzton Fellowship at Stanford. Shengxi’s research interests involve light-matter interactions of quantum materials and nanostructures, as well as the development of new quantum optical platforms and biochemical sensing technologies.