Professor Kenneth Burch at ECE Fall 2023 Colloquium

Quantum materials: a new paradigm for sensing

Quantum materials provide responses and states of matter with no classical analogs. As such, they offer opportunities to create various platforms for future devices crucial to human health, energy efficiency, communications, and imaging. I will describe the physics challenges and sensing opportunities these materials offer. I will then focus on using the relativistic electrons in graphene for biosensing. Specifically, we have developed a new platform for multiplexed, rapid, easy-to-use detectors of biological analytes. I will discuss the unique aspects of graphene involved, resulting in our demonstration of the detection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, decease biomarkers in saliva, opioids in wastewater, and respiratory infection at clinically relevant levels. Time permitting, I will explain our efforts to use quantum materials to create new quantum simulators.