The moiré superlattice serves as an elegant testament to how quantum mechanical principles can be harnessed to control material properties at atomic precision. By stacking two van der Waals layers with a meticulously controlled twist angle, we enter a domain where the subtle interplay of atomic alignments reveals a rich tapestry of tunable electronic and optical phenomena. I will focus on transition metal dichalcogenide-based moiré superlattices and give a few examples of tailored light-matter interaction including new types of excited states and how they evolve when a periodic structure transitions to a quasicrystal.

This lecture was made possible by the William C. Ferguson fund.