1. Physics of graphene, 2D materials, van der Waals heterostructures and devices

• Simulation of atomic structure and investigation of mechanical and thermal conduction properties of 2D materials;
• Calculation of the electronic structure of 2D materials and investigation of their optical and transport properties;
• Study of the interlayer interaction effect on electronic, optical and transport properties of van der Waals heterostructures;
• Propose and design appropriate devices based on particular properties of 2D materials and van der Waals heterostructures;
• Develop efficient calculation methods and computational techniques in order to calculate physical quantities characterizing fundamental properties of 2D materials and van der Waals heterostructures; to model and simulate the operation of devices.

2. Numerical study of strongly correlated systems

• I nvestigate the competition between the Kondo effect and the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction of multi-impurity systems when the host is graphene;
• Develop the density function theory plus dynamical mean-field theory method for strongly correlated materials with application for materials with spin-orbit coupling;
• Use the time-dependent numerical renormalization group method to study several classes of non-equilibrium strongly correlated systems such as the Kondo impurity system under electric field, time-resolved spectral function, and lattice systems.

3. Nanomaterials and Nanosensors

• Study on the growth of various nanomaterials including nanostructured metal oxides such as nanoparticles, nanorods, nanowires and hierarchical structures, nanocarbons such as carbon nanotube, graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs);
• Study on the development of novel nanowire-based gas sensors, and multiple sensors using functionalized nanowires;
• Study on the development of ultralow power consumption gas sensors using nanowires for IoT applications and electronic nose;
• Study on hybrid heterojunction-based gas sensors using carbon nanotube or graphene and metal oxide nanowires;
• Study on the development smart sensing system using nanosensors for monitoring toxic gases in hazardous environments.

4. Nanostructured materials by atomic layer deposition

Deposition of (ultra-)thin films and (ultra-)small clusters of various materials including noble metals, semiconducting metal oxides and insulators for applications in:

• Photocatalysis: Surface modification of TiO2 nanomaterials by nanoclusters of noble metals (Pt, Ag), or metal oxides (AgO, CuO, Cu2O, Fe2O3, WO3) for enhanced photocatalytic activity;
• Hydrogen generation: Fabrication of heterostructures of metal/metal oxide (Pt/TiO2, Au/TiO2) or metal oxide/metal oxide (WO3/TiO2, Fe2O3/TiO2) for enhanced water splitting performance;
• Hydrophobic/hydrophilic surface engineering: Modifying the material surface by ALD coatings for tuning its hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity.

5. Spintronics and Magnetic sensor technology

• Study on the giant magnetoresistance effect (GMR) and spin valve films fabrications;
• Study on the tunneling magnetoresistance effect (TMR), spin transport phenomena in the magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) and synthesis of the TMR structures;
• Study on the fabrications of the functional magnetic materials, including magnetic thin films, single layer, multiple layers, and magnetic amorphous structures for magnetic sensor applications;
• Study on the gating flux effect in magnetic sensing application with an extremely high resolution;
• Development of various magnetic sensors, including 1-axis, 2-axes, and 3-axes base on GMR, TMR, AMR, Spin Hall effects with extremely high sensitivity and resolution;
• Study on deployment of the novel smart monitor and measurement using magnetic sensors applying in smart home, smart transportations, and healthcare systems.