Electron nanoscopy of van der Waals quantum materials

Research focus

Quantum, photonic, optoelectronic, and sensing technologies require materials whose properties can be understood and controlled at the nanoscale. In van der Waals materials, functionality is determined not only by chemical composition, but also by structural variations such as strain, twist, curvature, stacking, edges, and defects. These local features can reshape optical, electronic, and polar responses, giving rise to exciton localization, plasmonic resonances, moiré potentials, polarization textures, and band-gap modulation.

The Conesa Boj Lab develops and applies electron nanoscopy to quantify these structure–function relationships across the relevant length scales, from atomic defects and edges to moiré superlattices. By combining nanofabrication with EELS, 4D-STEM, and machine-learning-based data analysis, we correlate local structure, spectra, and fields in van der Waals materials, establishing design principles relevant to quantum emitters, nanophotonics, optoelectronics, and sensing.