
Low-Dimensional Quantum Materials
Prof. Dr. Dmitri K. Efetov
- Activities:
Since the first extraction of graphene and the subsequent Nobel Prize for its fascinating two-dimensional (2D) properties, a wide variety of atomically thin materials has been discovered, which together cover almost every phenomenon in condensed matter physics such as magnetism, superconductivity, topological insulation and many more. In contrast to its 3D counterparts, these materials become strongly renormalized in the strict 2D limit, through a combination of quantum confinement and enhanced electronic interactions. As a result these fascinating compounds exhibit enhanced quantum effects and display exceptionally strong interactions with electro-magnetic fields.
The low-dimensional quantum materials group uses innovative nano-fabrication techniques to create novel designer materials made by vertical stacking of various 2D materials such as graphene, hBN, MoS2, NbSe2 etc. The shear infinite number of combinations and stacking order allows to engineer exotic quantum systems with an unprecedented level of control and tune-ability. We study these complex electronic states with a combination of electrical, optical and thermal measurements, and employ these to provide new types of hybrid devices for quantum sensing applications.
The group has opportunities for outstanding Masters students, PhD students and postdocs. For more information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. directly. Information on application procedures can be found on the ICFO jobs website.
- Position(s) Available:
- Post-doctoral positions (up to two) in twistronics
- Links:
- Group homepage
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Low-Dimensional Quantum Materials
Prof. Dr. Dmitri K. Efetov


- Group Leader
- Prof. Dr. Dmitri K. Efetov
- Postdoctoral Researchers
- Dr. Alexandre Jaoui
- Dr. Paul Seifert
- Dr. Cheng Shen
- Dr. Petr Stepanov
- Dr. Elisa Shuoying Yang
- PhD Students
- Ipsita Das
- Di Battista Giorgio
- Jaime Díez Mérida
- Andrés Díez
- Roop Kumar Mech
- Rafael Luque Merino
- Former Group Members
- Xiaobo Lu, Postdoctoral researcher
- Aamir Mohammed Ali, Postdoctoral researcher
- John Nicholas Moore, Postdoctoral researcher
Low-Dimensional Quantum Materials
Prof. Dr. Dmitri K. Efetov

- Regular Papers
- Graphene-based Josephson junction microwave bolometer Nature 586, 42-46 (2020)
- Observation of flat bands in twisted bilayer graphene Nature Phys. 17,189–193 (2020)
- Terahertz photogalvanics in twisted bilayer graphene close to the second magic angle Nano Lett. 20 (2020)
- Untying the insulating and superconducting orders in magic-angle graphene Nature 583, 375-378 (2020)
- High-order minibands and interband Landau level reconstruction in graphene moiré superlattices Phys. Rev. B 102, 045409 (2020)
- Superconductivity and strong correlations in moiré flat bands Nature Phys. 16, 725–733(2020)
- Magic-angle bilayer graphene nanocalorimeters: Toward broadband, energy-resolving single photon detection Nano Lett. 20, 3459–3464 (2020)
- Critical role of device geometry for the phase diagram of twisted bilayer graphene Phys. Rev. B 101, 165110 (2020)
- Nanoscale imaging and control of hexagonal boron-nitride single photon emitters by a resonant nano-antenna Nano Lett. 20, 1992-1999 (2020)
- Superconductors, orbital magnets and correlated states in magic-angle bilayer graphene Nature 574, 653-657 (2019)
- Thermal radiation control from hot graphene electrons coupled to a photonic crystal nanocavity Nature Commun. 10, 109 (2019)
- Compact mid-infrared graphene thermopile enabled by a nanopatterning technique of electrolyte gates New J. Phys. 20, 083050 (2018)
- Fast thermal relaxation in cavity-coupled graphene bolometers with a Johnson noise read-out Nature Nanotechnol. 13, 797–801 (2018)
- Probing the ultimate plasmon confinement limits with a van der Waals heterostructure Science 360, 291-295 (2018)
- Ultrafast graphene light emitters Nano Lett. 18, 934-940 (2018)
- A MoTe2-based light-emitting diode and photodetector for silicon photonic integrated circuits Nature Nanotechnol. 12, 1124-1129 (2017) Highlighted in Nature Nanotechnol.
- Graphene-based Josephson-junction single-photon detector Phys. Rev. Applied 8, 024022 (2017) Highlighted in Physics
- Inducing superconducting correlation in quantum Hall edge states Nature Phys. 13, 693-698 (2017) Highlighted in Nature Phys.
- Articles in Magazines
- Nuevos estados en el grafeno «mágico» Investigación y Ciencia 529, 11 (2020)
Low-Dimensional Quantum Materials
Prof. Dr. Dmitri K. Efetov

- 2020-11-03 ICFO in European Quantum Week ICFO co-organizes Outreach event “Quantum Technologies in 5 minutes” for over 1300 registered students in Spain
- 2020-10-20 QuantumCAT: Accelerating the application of quantum technologies A consortium of research institutes, led by ICFO, and industry partners in Catalonia join forces to develop the Quantum Technologies Hub.
- 2020-10-01 The most sensitive and fastest graphene microwave bolometer Scientists from Harvard, ICFO, MIT, Raytheon BBN Technologies and NIMS construct the fastest and most sensitive graphene-based microwave bolometer achieved so far.
- 2020-09-28 Superconductivity with a twist explained Physicists have revealed what makes magic angle graphene so special. This is a key step elucidating the mystery behind superconductivity in this recently discovered material with potential for technological breakthroughs.
- 2020-07-17 Symposium on “Emergent phenomena in Moiré Materials”
July 6-17, 2020. 15h–19h Symposium on “Emergent phenomena in Moiré Materials” July 6-17, 2020. 15h–19h - 2020-07-07 Contest between superconductivity and insulating states in Magic Angle Graphene A team of scientists led by ICFO researchers develop a set of entirely novel knobs to control correlated electrons and demonstrate that superconductivity can exist without insulating phases in Magic Angle Twisted Bi-layer Graphene.
- 2020-05-21 The Physics behind Twisted Bilayer Graphene An international team of researchers, including ICFO Prof. Dmitri Efetov, give a thorough review in Nature Physics on the status and prospects of the physics behind stacked monolayers of 2D materials.
- 2020-01-27 Graphene, Quantum, and the Brain: Put them together and what do you get? Deep Tech EU at MWC Barcelona The most ambitious EU research initiatives showcase innovations at Deep Tech EU in MWC Barcelona.
- 2020-01-27 Vanguardia Science Awards A study led by Prof. Dmitri Efetov candidate for prize organized by La Vanguardia and Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera
- 2019-10-30 A Plethora of States in Magic-Angle Graphene A team of ICFO researchers uses twisted bi-layer graphene to unveil a new zoo of previously unobserved states, from superconducting to insulating to a new range of magnetic and topological states. The study has been published in Nature.
- 2019-09-03 ERC Starting Grant Awarded to Prof Dmitri Efetov Starting Grant funding helps young researchers build their own teams and conduct pioneering research
- 2019-06-27 Graphene 2019 attracts experts from research and industry ICFO and ICN2 represent BIST’s strategic Graphene Program
- 2019-06-14 The Quantum Communications Infrastructure Declaration The European Commission signs the declaration with member states.
- 2019-03-01 Graphene and Quantum Technologies team up at the Mobile World Congress 2019 The Graphene and Quantum Flagships exhibit technologies and present the initiatives at the world’s largest telecommunication event.
- 2018-11-23 Kick-off meeting of the Quantum Flagship “2D·SIPC“ project ICFO hosts the kick-off meeting of the Quantum Flagship “2D·SIPC” project, aimed at developing quantum devices that can be easily integrated in existing current silicon-based technologies.
- 2018-11-06 Junior Leader “la Caixa” Fellowship Prof. Dmitri Efetov receives prestigious new fellowship from Obra Social ”la Caixa”
- 2018-06-11 Graphene Bolometers in Nature Nanotechnology An international study reports on the development of ultra-sensitive and ultra-fast graphene bolometers
- 2018-04-19 New record on squeezing light to one atom A study published in Science reports on how ICFO researchers, with MIT and Univ. of Minho, are able to confine and guide light down to a space of 1-atom thick in dimension.
- 2017-10-27 2D materials for all optical communication on silicon chips A study from MIT in collaboration with ICFO reports on a new MoTe2-based detector and emitter for silicon photonic integrated circuits.
- 2017-08-29 Graphene Single Photon Detectors A Harvard, ICFO, MIT, Raytheon BBN Tech and Pohang Univ. theoretical study shows how graphene can significantly increase the sensitivity of single-photon-detectors.
- 2017-07-25 New Group Leader Dr. Dmitri Efetov joins ICFO to start a new group that will focus on low-dimensional quantum materials
- 2017-04-05 Superconducting Correlation in a Quantum Hall system in Nature Physics Scientists realized crossed Andreev conversion in a graphene Quantum Hall system.