The Pribiag group's research applies innovative nanofabrication and low-temperature measurement techniques to uncover the electronic properties of new low-dimensional material systems. Our work is driven both by the potential to uncover fundamental properties of quantum materials and by the desire to develop quantum devices with emergent physical properties that could enable future computing paradigms.

Our emphasis is on 2D and 1D materials that host topological states of matter or exhibit unusual spin and superconducting properties. Some of these materials are particularly promising for the development of future computing and communication technologies that will embrace the laws of quantum mechanics to overcome the limitations of what is possible within the existing (“classical”) paradigm.

Topological superconductivity is a fascinating condensed matter phase that is predicted to host Majorana zero-modes. When attached to a local defect such as a domain wall, Majorana modes, unlike conventional fermions, are expected to show non-Abelian exchange statistics. Because of their exotic properties and their topological robustness, Majoranas have become very important in the nascent field of topological quantum computing, which aims to exploit topological protection for decoherence-free quantum information processing.

Low-dimensional semiconductors with strong spin-orbit coupling open up avenues for exploring novel spin physics. For example, the spin orientation can be coupled to the electron propagation direction by applying a magnetic field along the nanowire. We are interested in the intriguing possibility of using such spin-helical modes as spin filters or to couple single spins from separate quantum dots.

Prof. Pribiag's Group is also part of the collaborative team working on the Department of Energy QIS project, Integrated Materials Platforms for Topological Quantum Computing Systems and the National Science Foundation project, Global Quantum Leap.

We are investigating a potentially groundbreaking new approach to realize topological states using DNA-enabled nanoassembly.