Advent calendar - December 13th - Teresa Lopez Carrasco

In the Zernike Institute Advent Calendar, we are presenting 24 short spotlights in December. In these specials, we highlight PhD students, postdocs, support staff and technicians of our research groups and team - providing a glimpse into their typical day at work. In Episode 13 meet Teresa Lopez Carrasco, PhD researcher in the OptoSpintronics of Quantum Materials group of Prof. Marcos Guimaraes.

Hello everyone,

I’m a PhD researcher in the Optospintronics of Quantum Materials group. I also never miss a chance to decorate the house, sing songs, and make presents for my friends, that's why I love Christmas!

Let me tell you a bit about my research, which focuses on studying the optical properties of 2D materials. Yes, you read that correctly, 2D! These crystals can be thinned down to just three atoms thick. Amazing, right? And you might assume we need incredibly fancy instruments for that, but actually… no. With nothing more than a piece of Scotch tape, the same kind you can buy at Action, and a crystal, you can exfoliate the material and obtain monolayers.

What makes these monolayers so interesting is that their properties change dramatically when they are thinned down. One key feature is that they become capable of emitting light. This is exciting because modern computers face a major problem: their interconnects are slow and waste a lot of energy as heat, mainly because they rely on electrons to transmit information. One solution is to switch from electrons to photons. And that’s where my research comes in, the goal is to integrate light-emitting 2D materials as light sources in photonic integrated circuits.

What does a typical workday look like?

Well… it depends on the phase of my work. When I need to measure a sample, I spend most of my time in the laser lab (that’s where the picture of me was taken). Measuring is very exciting because that’s the moment when real science happens. You are the first person in the entire world to see those results, how your sample behaves, and what new physics might appear. It’s also quite demanding. You need enough knowledge to recognize whether something is truly new and worth exploring, or if it’s just a trivial effect. It’s a lot of responsibility, but also a lot of fun.

And outside the lab?

I live together with my boyfriend and our two cats. I spend my evenings watching them run around, jump on every piece of furniture, and fill the house with their cuteness. I also enjoy going bouldering with friends, going out for dinner, and meeting for board games, just spending time together, laughing, and complaining about life.

I’m very grateful for everything this experience is bringing me, and I’m excited to keep learning and developing my career as a researcher.

See all Advent Calendar items 2025 here!