Qicheng Zhang got his bachelor’s degree in Polymer Materials and Engineering at Zhejiang University in 2012. In 2016, he earned his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He became a postdoc at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, in 2018. On January 2023, he accepted the offer from Westlake University as an assistant professor. He will join the School of Engineering in the summer, in charge of the laboratory of nanostructures for electronics and electromechanics (NE²). He is not only enthusiastic about fundamental research but is also interested in the transformation of fundamental discoveries into applications.

On the one hand, he has achieved innovative results in areas like topological phase engineering of van der Waals materials. On the other hand, as a critical researcher, he has also participated in projects like the industrialization of the “electronic nose” based on carbon nanotubes. Benefiting from such interdisciplinary research experiences, he has done some seminal work in integrated topological phononics.

2023

Assistant professor, Westlake University

2018

Postdoctoral researcher, University of Pennsylvania

2016

Ph. D., Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

2012

Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Zhejiang University

The classification of phases based on topological order emerges from studying the quantum Hall effect. Still, it is universal in various fields, including photonics, mechanics, and phononics. On the other hand, integrated phononic, especially at microwave frequency, is an emerging field, attracting much attention due to potential applications in communications, quantum technology, etc. Realizing topological phonon modes in integrated phononic circuitry envisions beneficial and exciting properties.

To go beyond the sensitivity and resolution of existing techniques, Dr. Zhang innovatively introduced microwave impedance microscopy (MIM), a technique previously mainly used to characterize the electrical properties of materials, into a nanoelectromechanical phononic crystal system and first demonstrated the phononic topological valley Hall effect at microwave frequency. He also developed a continuum theoretical framework to study the topology of piezoactive systems. With this framework, he discovered the effect of general duality on symmetry breaking. He found that doping charges can act as a tuning knob in engineering symmetry breaking of piezoactive systems. His work lays a foundation for the further development of integrated topological phononics.

In the NE² lab, where Dr. Zhang is the PI, we are interested in linking structures with functions, especially in ways they haven’t connected before, and developing novel devices from the discoveries. One of our current topics is to develop integrated phononic systems working at microwave frequency based on topological physics. We approach this topic with two primary directions: 1. developing topological phononic devices and circuits using existing materials (like AlN and LiNbO₃); 2. developing new material systems for novel phenomena and functions in phononics.

We are a highly interdisciplinary lab. Other topics, such as electronic or electromechanical devices employing nanostructures (like biosensors), are also of our interest. We welcome new members, including graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, research assistants, and undergraduate students. Please see our website (https://ne2.lab.westlake.edu.cn) for more information.

1. Zhang, Q.; He, L.; Mele, E. J.; Zhen, B.; Johnson, A. T. C. “General duality and magnet-free passive phononic Chern insulators”. Nat. Commun., 14, 916 (2023).

2. Zhang, Q.*; Lee, D.*; Zheng, L.; Ma, X.; Meyer, S. I.; He, L.; Ye, H.; Gong, Z.; Zhen, B.; Lai, K. & Johnson, A. T. C. "Observation of Gigahertz Topological Valley Hall Effect in Nanoelectromechanical Phononic Crystals". Nat. Electron., 5, 157 (2022).

3. Gao, Z.*; Wang, S.*; Berry, J.*; Zhang, Q.*; Gebhardt, J.; Parkin, W. M.; Avila, J.; Yi, H.; Chen, C.; Hurtado-Parra, S.; Drndić, M.; Rappe, A. M.; Srolovitz, D. J.; Kikkawa, J. M.; Luo, Z.; Asensio, M. C.; Wang, F. & Johnson, A. T. C. "Large-area epitaxial growth of curvature-stabilized ABC trilayer graphene". Nat. Commun. 11, 546 (2020).

4. Gao, Z.; Zhang, Q.; Naylor, C. H.; Kim, Y.; Abidi, I. H.; Ping, J.; Ducos, P.; Zauberman, J.; Zhao, M. Q.; Rappe, A. M.; Luo, Z.; Ren, L. & Johnson, A. T. C. "Crystalline Bilayer Graphene with Preferential Stacking from Ni-Cu Gradient Alloy". ACS Nano 12, 2275–2282 (2018).

5. Zhang, Q.; Naylor, C. H.; Gao, Z. L.; Wu, R. Z.; Abidi, I. H.; Zhao, M. Q.; Ding, Y.; Cagang, A. A.; Zhuang, M. H.; Ou, X. W. & Luo, Z. T. "Recoil Effect and Photoemission Splitting of Trions in Monolayer MoS2". ACS Nano 11, 10808–10815 (2017).

Email: zhangqicheng@westlake.edu.cn

We are looking for more graduate students, research assistants and postdoctoral researchers to join us! We also provide research opportunities for undergraduates.

We want a diverse and collaborative team to fulfill our tasks better. We welcome investigators from but are not limited to, electronic and information engineering, physics, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, etc.

Please visit https://ne2.lab.westlake.edu.cn/Join_us.htm for more information.