• BS, Physics, Nanjing University, China – 2007
• MS, Physics, University of Minnesota – 2012
• PhD, Physics, University of Minnesota – 2016

Condensed Matter Experiment

Superconductivity, Spintronics, Synthesis of quantum materials

New physics can emerge when different materials are brought together through precision synthesis. For example, in some oxide insulators, when one is grown on top the other, their interface can become metallic, hosting high mobility charge carriers, and even become superconducting at low temperatures. Investigation of these materials systems not only can shed light on the understanding of the underlying mechanism of  many physical phenomena in condensed matter physics, but also bring about possible applications in quantum information science. We are interested in the synthesis of quantum materials with control in the atomic level using molecular beam epitaxy. We will investigate the structural, charge transport, spin transport, magnetic and optical properties of these synthesized materials. We will also fabricate devices to explore potential applications based on these materials using nanofabrication facilities.

• Post-Doctoral Travel Awards, American Physical Society, 2019
• Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Finance Students Abroad, 2016

• C. Liu, X. Zhou, D. Hong, B. Fisher, H. Zheng, J. Pearson, J. S. Jiang, D. Jin, M. R. Norman and A. Bhattacharya, “Tunable superconductivity and its origin at KTaO₃ interfaces,” Nature Communications 14, 951 (2023).
• C. Liu*, Y. Luo*, D. Hong, S.-L. Zhang, H. Saglam, Y. Li, Y. Lin, B. Fisher, J. E. Pearson, J. S. Jiang, H. Zhou, J. Wen, A. Hoffmann and A. Bhattacharya, “Electric field control of magnon spin currents in an antiferromagnetic insulator,” Science Advances 7, eabg1669, (2021).
• C. Liu*, Xi Yan*, D. Jin, Y. Ma, H.-W. Hsiao, Y. Lin, T. B.-Sullivan, X. Zhou, J. Pearson, B. Fisher, J. S. Jiang, W. Han, J.-M. Zuo, J. Wen, D. D. Fong, J. Sun, H. Zhou and A. Bhattacharya, “Two-dimensional superconductivity and anisotropic transport at KTaO₃ (111) interfaces,” Science, 371, 716–721 (2021).
• C. Liu, V. F. C. Humbert, T. B.-Sullivan, G. Wang, D. Hong, F. Wrobel, J. Zhang, J. D. Hoffman, J. E. Pearson, J. S. Jiang, C. Chang, A. Suslov, N. Mason, M. R. Norman and A. Bhattacharya, “Observation of an antiferromagnetic quantum critical point in high-purity LaNiO₃,” Nature Communications 11, 1402 (2020).
• C. Liu, F. Wrobel, J. D. Hoffman, D. Hong, J. E. Pearson, E. Benckiser and A. Bhattacharya, “Counter-thermal flow of holes in high-mobility LaNiO₃ thin films,” Physical Review B 99, 041114 (2019), Rapid Communications.
• C. Liu*, S. M. Wu*, J. E. Pearson, J. S. Jiang, N. d’Ambrumenil and A. Bhattacharya, “Probing short-range magnetic order in a geometrically frustrated magnet by means of the spin Seebeck effect,” Physical Review B 98, 060415 (2018), Rapid Communications, Editor’s suggestion.
• C. Liu, S. J. Patel, T. A. Peterson, C. C. Geppert, K. D. Christie, G. Stecklein, C. J. Palmstrøm and P. A. Crowell, “Dynamic detection of spin accumulation in ferromagnet-semiconductor devices using ferromagnetic resonance,” Nature Communications 7, 10296 (2016).
• C. Liu, Y. Boyko, C. C. Geppert, K. D. Christie, G. Stecklein, S. J. Patel, C. J. Palmstrøm and P. A. Crowell, “Electrical detection of ferromagnetic resonance in ferromagnet/n-GaAs heterostructures by tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance,” Applied Physics Letters 105, 212401 (2014), Cover article.