Event
Ph.D. Dissertation Defense: Shanchuan Liang
Thursday, March 26, 2026
1:30 p.m.
AV Williams 2328
Emily Irwin
301 405 0680
eirwin@umd.edu
ANNOUNCEMENT: Ph.D. Dissertation Defense
Name: Shanchuan Liang
Committee:
Professor Cheng Gong (Chair/Advisor)
Professor Kevin M. Daniels
Professor Carlos A. Rios Ocampo
Professor Shenqiang Ren (Dean's Representative)
Professor Yichao Zhang
Date/time: Thursday, March 26, 2026 at 1:40 pm to 3:40pm
Location: A.V.W. Room 2328
Title: Magnetoelectric Effects in Two-Dimensional Multiferroic Heterostructures
Abstract:
Magnetism, one of the fundamental quantum phenomena, has revolutionized technologies ranging from data storage to biomedical imaging and continues to bring forth new phenomena in emerging materials with reduced dimensionalities. The recent rise of two-dimensional (2D) magnets offers a compelling platform for exploring magnetoelectric effects, owing to their strong interfacial sensitivity, wide property tunability, and excellent compatibility with other materials. These attributes enable the construction of 2D van der Waals (vdW) multiferroic heterostructures, engineered stacks of ferroelectric and ferromagnetic layers, which could utilize interfacial magnetoelectric coupling as a pathway for efficient control of 2D magnetism. Motivated by this, this dissertation focuses on experimentally probing the magnetoelectric effects in these multiferroic heterostructures.
We initially demonstrate non-volatile ferroelectric modulation of magnetic properties in hybrid multiferroic heterostructures composed of 2D magnetic Cr2Ge2Te6 and a ferroelectric polymer. By applying small voltages, we achieve reversible switching between two contrasting magnetic properties (i.e., named “ON” and “OFF” states), identifying polarization-dependent interfacial hybridization as the primary driving mechanism. To further improve interface quality and scalability, we realize Fe3GeTe2/CuCrP2S6 all-vdW multiferroic heterostructures, which likewise exhibit low-voltage and non-volatile electrical control of 2D magnetism. In addition, we quantify the thickness-dependent control efficiency, identifying the 2D magnet thickness regime where short-range interfacial coupling plays a noticeable effect. Collectively, this work contributes to the study of functional quantum materials by demonstrating ferroelectric control of 2D magnetism and providing insights relevant to future energy-efficient spintronics.
