Future electronics must not only surpass current technologies in performance ("More-Moore"), but also deliver enhanced functionality, ubiquitous integration, and energy efficiency ("More-than-Moore"). Nanostructured materials offer unique opportunities toward this vision due to their tunable electronic structure and scalable, low-cost processing from abundant materials. However, their integration into functional devices remains challenging because, at the nanoscale, interfaces dominate carrier transport rather than bulk electronic properties.
In this talk, I will present our recent advances in engineering nanostructure interfaces to control carrier transport.
First, to obtain fundamental insight into nanoscale transport, we developed a method to create ultraclean two-dimensional interfaces. This platform enables precise characterization of spin transport and has led to magnetic tunnel junctions with record-level performance and energy efficiency. In addition, we demonstrate spin-filtering effects in 2D heterojunctions, opening new pathways toward spintronic computing architectures.
Beyond atomically sharp 2D heterointerfaces, we further engineer transport by transforming assemblies of nanostructures into continuous interfacial systems. Specifically, we introduce a strategy to sinter perovskite nanocubes into extended, freestanding membranes, where controlled coalescence reduces interparticle barriers and enhances both electronic transport and mechanical robustness.
Finally, we address a regime in which transport is no longer determined by a single interface, but by networks of many coupled interfaces. In such assemblies, carrier flow depends on collective phenomena such as percolation pathways, interparticle coupling, and mechanical jamming, which fundamentally alter electronic and mechanical response. Using newly developed simulation tools, we analyze how structural rearrangements modify transport. The gained insight enables novel application directions and I will describe our work on strain sensing, microrobotics, and hot electron catalysis.
Mario Hofmann is Professor of Physics at National Taiwan University (NTU) in Taipei. He received his Diploma in Technical Physics from TU Ilmenau and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After joining National Cheng Kung University in 2012 as an Assistant Professor, he moved to NTU, where he has been Full Professor since 2022. His research focuses on nanoscale electronic and spin phenomena in low-dimensional materials, as well as the study of nanostructure assemblies and their integration into next-generation electronic platforms.
Future electronics must not only surpass current technologies in performance ("More-Moore"), but also deliver enhanced functionality, ubiquitous integration, and energy efficiency ("More-than-Moore"). Nanostructured materials offer unique opportunities toward this vision due to their tunable electronic structure and scalable, low-cost processing from abundant materials. However, their integration into functional devices remains challenging because, at the nanoscale, interfaces dominate carrier transport rather than bulk electronic properties.
In this talk, I will present our recent advances in engineering nanostructure interfaces to control carrier transport.
First, to obtain fundamental insight into nanoscale transport, we developed a method to create ultraclean two-dimensional interfaces. This platform enables precise characterization of spin transport and has led to magnetic tunnel junctions with record-level performance and energy efficiency. In addition, we demonstrate spin-filtering effects in 2D heterojunctions, opening new pathways toward spintronic computing architectures.
Beyond atomically sharp 2D heterointerfaces, we further engineer transport by transforming assemblies of nanostructures into continuous interfacial systems. Specifically, we introduce a strategy to sinter perovskite nanocubes into extended, freestanding membranes, where controlled coalescence reduces interparticle barriers and enhances both electronic transport and mechanical robustness.
Finally, we address a regime in which transport is no longer determined by a single interface, but by networks of many coupled interfaces. In such assemblies, carrier flow depends on collective phenomena such as percolation pathways, interparticle coupling, and mechanical jamming, which fundamentally alter electronic and mechanical response. Using newly developed simulation tools, we analyze how structural rearrangements modify transport. The gained insight enables novel application directions and I will describe our work on strain sensing, microrobotics, and hot electron catalysis.
Mario Hofmann is Professor of Physics at National Taiwan University (NTU) in Taipei. He received his Diploma in Technical Physics from TU Ilmenau and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After joining National Cheng Kung University in 2012 as an Assistant Professor, he moved to NTU, where he has been Full Professor since 2022. His research focuses on nanoscale electronic and spin phenomena in low-dimensional materials, as well as the study of nanostructure assemblies and their integration into next-generation electronic platforms.
