Isaac Rodríguez-Vargas

Dr. Isaac Rodríguez-Vargas is a young solid state physicist, specializing in low-dimensional systems. He has a broad research interest in the theoretical study of quantum wells, wires and dots. He has a theoretical background in methodologies such as: the effective mass approximation, the kp method, the tight-binding method, and the transfer and hybrid matrix approach. For more than ten years, he has studied the optoelectronic and transport properties of delta-doped quantum wells. He has successfully explained experimental results about the transport properties of coupled delta-doped quantum wells by means of calculations of the electronic structure. In the past few years, he has been involved in the study of the transmission, transport and electronic structure properties of graphene-based systems. In particular, periodic and aperiodic multi-barrier systems. At this moment four aspects catch the attention of Dr. Rodríguez-Vargas: 1) oscillations in the conductance, 2) self-similar charge transport, 3) Fano resonances and 4) Low- dimensional thermoelectricity in 2D materials. In the first case he has succeeded in correlate the opening, closure and degeneration of the energy subbands with the peaks in the conductance, explaining in this way the energy location and form of the oscillations. In the case of self-similar charge transport he has participated in the derivation of the scale rules that underlie in the transmission and transport properties of self-similar graphene-based structures. These rules constitute a demonstration that self-similarity, an ubiquitous property reflected in different aspects of nature, is manifested in the physical properties of solid- state systems. He is also studying Fano resonances in gapless bilayer graphene, specifically how these asymmetric resonances influence the transport properties. Finally, Dr. Rodríguez-Vargas is addressing the concept of low-dimensional thermoelectricity in 2D materials. Particularly, how these materials can be nanostructured to improve the thermoelectric properties such as the Seebeck coefficient and the thermopower factor. At the moment he is working with monolayer graphene, bilayer graphene and silicene.