The Physics and Engineering of Nanodevices Group, led by ICREA Prof. Sergio O. Valenzuela, is seeking a highly motivated PhD candidate to join a research project on quantum transport in van der Waals heterostructures, funded by the Spanish State Research Agency. The project aims to address fundamental questions concerning charge and spin transport in quantum materials based on two-dimensional systems, with particular emphasis on controlling and probing quantum states through spin, proximity effects and electrical gating. The research will explore how the properties of atomically thin materials can be transformed when different two-dimensional crystals are brought together, creating artificial quantum systems with properties that are absent in the individual materials.
Depending on the specific direction of the project and the interests of the candidate, the research may address spin-orbit and magnetic proximity effects, spin-charge interconversion and spin torques, and the interplay between spin, magnetism and topology in graphene and related van der Waals materials. A central objective will be to reveal and manipulate the internal structure of quantum states using experimental probes that go beyond conventional charge-transport measurements.
Related references:
[1] J. F. Sierra, J. Fabian, R. K. Kawakami, S. Roche & S. O. Valenzuela, Nature Nano. 16, 856 (2021) [2] F. Herling, M. Torres-Sala et al., Nano Lett. 26, 5434 (2026) [3] L. A. Benítez et al., Nature Phys. 14, 303 (2018); Matter 19, 170 (2020) [4] J. F. Sierra, J. Světlík et al., Nature Mater. 24, 876 (2025) [5] H. Yang, S. O. Valenzuela et al., Nature 606, 663 (2022)
Starting date in 2027 (negotiable)
For further information on the projec and application process: https://jobs.icn2.cat/job-openings/865/phd-position-in-quantum-transport-with-van-der-waals-heterostructures