People

Professor Mao Hai Xie received his bachelor degree in electronic engineering from Tianjin University in 1985, master degree in physics from Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 1988, and PhD in physics from University of London (Imperial College) in 1994. He worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at Imperial College, London from 1995 to 1997 before joining Physics Department, The University of Hong Kong in 1997 as an assistant professor, associate professor and professor consecutively. He served as the head of the Department between Jan 2017 and Dec 2019. He also served as the President of Hong Kong Physical Society from 2009 to 2013. 

Professor Xie’s research is on experimental condensed matter physics, specifically on thin film growth by molecular-beam epitaxy, surface characterizations by scanning tunneling microscopy, electron diffraction, and photoelectron spectroscopy. His recent research focuses on quantum materials, particularly two-dimensional materials. 

1. “Wafer-scale single-crystalline MoSe₂ and WSe₂ monolayers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy at low-temperature — the role of island-substrate interaction and surface steps”, Yipu Xia, Degong Ding, Ke Xiao, Junqiu Zhang, Shaogang Xu, Daliang He, Xingyu Yue, Qing Rao, Xiong Wang, Sujuan Ding, Guoyun Gao, Hongxia Xue, Yueyang Wang, Mengfei Yuan, Wingkin Ho, Dong-Keun Ki, Hu Xu, Xiaodong Cui, Chuanhong Jin, Maohai Xie, Natural Sciences 3, 20220059 (2023)

2. “Charge Density Modulation and the Luttinger Liquid State in MoSe2 Mirror Twin Boundaries”, Yipu Xia, Junqiu Zhang, Yuanjun Jin, Wingkin Ho, Hu Xu, Maohai Xie, ACS Nano 14, 10716 (2020)

3. “Quantum Confined Tomonaga–Luttinger Liquid in Mo₆Se₆ Nanowires Converted from an Epitaxial MoSe₂ Monolayer”, Yipu Xia, Bo Wang, Junqiu Zhang, Yuanjun Jin, Hao Tian, Wingkin Ho, Hu Xu, Chuanhong Jin, Maohai Xie, Nano Lett. 20, 2094 (2020)

4. “Two-dimensional metal-phosphorus network”, Hao Tian, Jun-Qiu Zhang, Wingkin Ho, Jin-Peng Xu, Bowen Xia, Yipu Xia, Jing Fan, Hu Xu, Maohai Xie, SY Tong, Matter 2, 111 (2020)

5. “One-dimensional phosphorus chain and two-dimensional blue phosphorene grown on Au (111) by molecular-beam epitaxy”, J.P. Xu, J.Q. Zhang, H. Tian, H. Xu, W.K. Ho, M.H. Xie, Phys. Rev. Mater. 1, 061002(R) (2017)

6. “Ultrathin layers of b-tellurene grown on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite by molecular-beam epitaxy”, J.L. Chen, Y.W. Dai, Y.Q. Ma, X.Q. Dai, W.K. Ho, M.H. Xie, Nanoscale 9, 15945-15948(2017)

7. “Molecular-beam epitaxy of monolayer MoSe₂: growth characteristics and domain boundary formation”, L. Jiao, H. Liu, J. Chen, Y. Yi, W.G. Chen, Y. Cai, J.N. Wang, X.Q. Dai, N. Wang, W.K. Ho, M.H. Xie, New J. Physics 17, 053023 (2015)

8. “Observation of intervalley quantum interference in epitaxial monolayer WSe₂”, H. Liu, J. Chen, H. Yu, F. Yang, L. Jiao, G.B. Liu, W.K. Ho, C.L. Gao, J.F. Jia, W. Yao, M.H. Xie, Nat. Comm. 6, 8180 (2015)

9. “Dense network of one-dimensional midgap metallic modes in monolayer MoSe₂ and their spatial undulations”, H. Liu, L. Jiao, F. yang, Y. Cai, X.X. Wu, W.K. Ho, C.L. Gao, J.F. Jia, N. Wang, H. Fan, W. Yao, M.H. Xie, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 066105 (2014)

10. “Anisotropic topological surface states on high-index Bi₂Se₃ films”, Z. Xu, X. Guo, M.Y. yao, H.T. He, L. Miao, L. Jiao, H.C. Liu, J.N. Wang, D. Qian, J.F. Jia, W.K. Ho, M.H. Xie, Adv. Mater. 25, 1557 (2013)

1. NSFC/RGC Joint Research Scheme (PI): Microscopic studies of polymorphic structured transition-metal dichalcogenide epifilms: defects, domain boundaries and interlayer coupling (HKU Project Code: N_HKU732/17)
2. Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) - Group Research Project (PI): Two-dimensional Transition-metal Dichalcogenides and Beyond - From Materials, Physics to Devices (HKU Project Code: C7036-17W)