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Researcher

Jonas Bekaert

  • Research Expertise:Expertise on quantum theory applied to nanoscale and nanoengineered materials, in view of their mechanical, electronic, magnetic and optical properties. The main methodology used is density functional theory (DFT), put to practice using highly parallelized computing. Current research activities mainly involve novel quantum states in two-dimensional materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides, with a strong focus on collective electron behaviour, such as superconductivity. Here, the DFT results are combined with dedicated quantum field theories describing these collective quantum states. Furthermore, a strong experience on solar cell performance and other energy applications was built up over the years.
  • Keywords:TWO-DIMENSIONAL MATERIALS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY, ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE CALCULATIONS, Physics (incl. astronomy)
  • Disciplines:Crystallography, Electronic (transport) properties, Magnetism and superconductivity, Nanophysics and nanosystems, Optical properties and interactions with radiation, Semiconductors and semimetals, Structural and mechanical properties, Surfaces, interfaces, 2D materials
  • Research techniques:Electronic structure calculations, mainly density functional theory (DFT) and density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) to describe electron behaviour, quantized lattice vibrations called phonons and the electron-phonon interaction. Wide experience with DFT packages such as ABINIT, Quantum Espresso and VASP, and how to efficiently run them on high-performance computing clusters.
  • Users of research expertise:Theoretical support, predictions and interpretation of results can be delivered to experimental groups and companies working on new functional and nanoscale materials, aimed at electronic devices for computing, sensing and energy applications.