Definition
Plain language
A sandwich of one-atom-thick crystal sheets stacked on top of each other to make new materials.
As stated in the literature
A layered material formed by stacking 2D crystals held together by van der Waals forces, used to engineer novel electronic and quantum phases.
Also called: van der Waals heterostructures
Why it matters: These hand-built stacks let physicists design materials with custom properties, including ones hosting exotic quantum states.
For example, stacking a sheet of graphene on top of hexagonal boron nitride can create a material with electronic properties neither has on its own.
Heard on the show
“The field calls these stacks van der Waals heterostructures, and they've dominated condensed matter physics for the last decade.”Episode 072 — A Robot Made Graphene Without Help, And Caught Itself Hallucinating