Tomojit Chowdhury (University of Chicago): Materials Science and Engineering Seminar

Title: “Precision Synthesis of Next-Gen Electronic Materials”

Tomojit Chowdhury

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Chicago

Tomojit Chowdhury is currently a Kadanoff-Rice Postdoctoral Fellow at the James Franck Institute of the University of Chicago, where he works with Prof. Jiwoong Park. His research focuses on developing scalable 2D quantum materials by combining discrete organic molecules and inorganic crystals to explore new excitonic properties. He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Chemistry from Johns Hopkins University, working alongside Prof. Thomas Kempa, where he led the development of a bottom-up method to tailor the morphology and optical properties of low-dimensional semiconductors. His work has been recognized with the 2024 ACS Young Investigator Award and the 2021 NSF-MRSEC Kadanoff-Rice Fellowship.

Research Synopsis:

Building next-generation optoelectronic and quantum devices requires materials with precisely engineered properties across multiple length scales. Atomically thin semiconductors, such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), have emerged as a promising platform for compact, high-speed, and low-power devices. However, gaining full bottom-up control over crystal dimensions and properties remains challenging, as tuning composition, crystal orientation, and interlayer interactions demands precise synthesis approaches compatible with the intrinsic thinness of these materials.

In this talk, I will present two synthesis-driven strategies for atomically thin semiconductors that demonstrate greater control over material dimensions and properties. First, I will introduce a substrate-directed synthesis method that tailors TMD morphology and light-emitting properties without requiring expensive and often invasive patterning techniques. This method shows how a designer substrate’ enables semiconductor patterning, leading to integration into transistor prototypes. Second, I will describe a scalable, four-atom-thick bilayer platform deliberately synthesized from specific monolayers of organic molecules and TMDs, unlocking optical properties that neither constituent exhibits alone. I will discuss how the electronic interplay between the molecular and TMD monolayers gives rise to bright ‘hybrid excitons’—supported by both experimental results and lattice-scale ab initio calculations—which bear unique signatures of discrete molecules as well as band solids. This approach highlights the promise of designing interlayer (or moiré) potentials in molecule-based bilayer crystals through synthesis, significantly expanding the scope of all-inorganic bilayer heterostructures. I will conclude with my vision for using precision materials synthesis to address key challenges in device performance and drive innovation in future optoelectronic and quantum technologies.