Date of Award:

8-2026

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Physics

Committee Chair(s)

T. C. Shen (Major Advisor) Minh Tuan Trinh (Co-advisor)

Committee

T. C. Shen

Committee

Minh Tuan Trinh

Committee

Mark Riffe

Abstract

Modern electronics mostly work by moving electric charge, which generates heat and hence wastes energy, especially as devices become smaller and faster. An alternative is to use the spin of electrons (a tiny magnetic property) and related “valley” states in certain atomically thin materials to store and process information more efficiently. This thesis explores how magnetism and spin behavior can be created and measured in a family of ultra-thin materials known as van der Waals quantum materials. Three kinds of materials are studied. First, atomically thin semiconductors are shaped into narrow nanoribbons. Because of their narrow size, their edges can strongly influence how electrons behave, and experiments show that these ribbons respond to magnetic fields differently than large flat sheets, indicating that edges and confinement can amplify magnetic effects. Second, a small number of magnetic atoms (vanadium) doped into a monolayer semiconductor (WSe2). With magnetic dopants, we can introduce and manipulate magnetism in atomically thin materials. Optical measurements show that the doped material maintains its spin/valley polarization more strongly and over a wider energy range, indicating magnetic dopant influence on the optical and magnetic properties of ultrathin materials. Third, a magnetic material with a naturally twisting spin structure (Cr1/3TaS2) is examined with ultrafast laser techniques to observe how its magnetism evolves on extremely short time scales. This would open a methodology for controlling coherent spin and spin superposition, potentially for applications in quantum computing and communication. By connecting material design (edges, dopants, and complex magnetic textures) to clear optical signatures, this work helps advance the scientific foundation for faster, lower-power information technologies, including spin-based memory, energy-efficient computing, quantum computing, and sensitive magnetic/optical sensors.

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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
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