Engineering topological electronics, photonics and optoelectronics based on two-dimensional van der waals materials

Topology has been recognized to play an important role in providing novel routes to

understanding and creating new quantum phases and phenomena in condensed matter physics.

Recent advances in the development of two-dimensional (2D) atomic crystals from various van der 

Waals (vdW) materials have also simulated intense research efforts because of their unique 

properties for exploring the effects of different degrees of freedom on the quantum states of matter 

and their great promises for a wide range of technological applications. In this talk, I will describe our

 recent expeditions of engineering topological electronics, photonics, and optoelectronics based on 

2D-vdW materials. For topological electronics, we develop valley-Hall transistors based on nanoscale 

strain-engineered single layer graphene [1] and discover a variety of new quantum phenomena 

associated with the topological electronic states in the presence of strain-induced giant pseudo-magnetic fields. 

In the case of topological photonics, we explore strong light-matter interactions in single-layer transition 

metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with topological photons generated by optical and plasmonic vortices. [2,3] 

We will further describe how novel topological optoelectronic phenomena may be generated by applying 

spin-orbit coupling of light to the 2D-vdW materials and discuss potential technological applications of 

these topological electronics/photonic/optoelectronics.