EQAL Ergen Quantum Applications Lab
Istanbul Technical University & CNR-NANOTEC

Re‑engineering nature at the nanoscale

Istanbul Technical University  |  CNR-NANOTEC, Lecce

We design materials atom by atom and turn them into working devices: quantum batteries, boron nitride and borophene aerogels, battery-free sensors printed on skin, and semiconductors grown at lower temperatures.

  • ERC Starting Grant
  • EIC funding 2026
  • Horizon Europe Seal of Excellence
  • TÜBA-GEBİP
  • Business Finland

Latest results

What we have published, built and been funded for most recently.

PNAS, 2026 – edited by David A. Weitz, Harvard University

Programming ions as matter waves for subpicosecond conduction

We showed that a two-dimensional borophene / h-BN / graphene cell has a collective ionic mode. Driven at a critical frequency of 10 kHz, ions stop hopping randomly and move together as one coherent wave. Pump–probe spectroscopy reveals the fingerprint: a strong 28 THz oscillation, a first for ionic systems.

  • < 300 fsto cross an 80 nm channel
  • > 1,000×faster than diffusion
  • Picosecondsto charge with a laser pulse
Read the paper

Watch in 45 seconds: sound puts salt in order on a metal plate – and our 10 kHz pulse does the same for ions inside a 2D material.

European Innovation Council – Funded by the European Union

EIC, 2026

EIC funding for BNAG

Our spin-off received European Innovation Council funding for BNAG, a boron–carbon–nitrogen aerogel that conducts heat exceptionally well while staying electrically insulating – for safer batteries, sensors and electronics.

Horizon Europe Seal of Excellence certificate for GAMBIT, proposal 101248718

Horizon Europe, 2025

Seal of Excellence for GAMBIT

GAMBIT (101248718) – generating advanced quantum materials from B-C-N ternary phases for battery innovation, sensors and broad industrial use.

IEEE Spectrum illustration of a nano-tattoo being printed on a forearm

IEEE Spectrum, 2023

Nano-tattoos with no battery or wires

A chipless graphene sensor printed on skin that sends its data by backscattering ambient Wi-Fi to a smartphone.

Read the feature

Research

One question runs through every project: how can we fully control how electrons and ions move – as precisely as we write code? We discover, design, synthesise and characterise new materials, then build them into devices. The work always balances fundamental science with industrial use.

Quantum energy storage

What if a battery charged in seconds because ions moved as a coherent wave instead of drifting?

The QUEEN platform, funded by an ERC Starting Grant, uses quantum super-exchange interactions to redesign lithium-ion and next-generation batteries (Na, Mg, Ca, Li-S). Our nano-engineered graphene aerogel cathodes even charge Li-air cells with a simple puff of air.

  • ERC QUEEN
  • Borophene
  • PNAS 2023 & 2026

B-C-N quantum materials

Can one material be the best heat conductor and the best electrical insulator at the same time?

GAMBIT and BNAG explore the tunable electronics, strong spin-orbit coupling and quantum coherence of boron–carbon–nitrogen phases for batteries, sensors and thermal management in data centres.

  • GAMBIT
  • BNAG
  • EIC 2026

2D materials and heterostructures

When you stack graphene, boron nitride and borophene one atom thick, what new physics appears where they meet?

Graphene, h-BN, MoS₂ and GaN in van der Waals stacks for electronics, photonics and spintronics – including room-temperature spin control of single-photon emitters in h-BN for quantum technologies.

  • h-BN
  • GaN
  • Single-photon emitters

Battery-free wearable sensors

Could a sensor printed on your skin detect your heartbeat and send it wirelessly – with no battery, chip or wire?

Ink-based nano-tattoos made from ZnO nanowires in graphene aerogel monitor motion, cardiac signals and biofluids, and communicate by ambient backscatter. The same paint turns gears, pipes and walls into sensors.

  • Nano-tattoo
  • Backscatter IoT
  • IEEE Spectrum

Low-temperature semiconductors

Why does silicon carbide need furnaces above 2,000 °C – and can quantum phonon aggregation make it far cooler and faster?

The Quantum Phonon Aggregation Method grows SiC with fewer defects and much less energy, for power electronics, EV inverters and RF devices. Supported by Business Finland.

  • Quantum SiC
  • Power electronics

AI for science and health

Can AI find atomic-scale strain in microscope images faster than any human – and spot disease from a photo or a voice?

PyNanospacing maps strain in TEM images. Our deep-learning work detects oral cancer, atrial fibrillation and respiratory disease, and identifies food fraud from simple sound vibrations.

  • PyNanospacing
  • Medical AI
  • Food fraud
Diagram: programming atoms, tuning nature, developing 2D devices, translating to 3D architectures, practical devices and AI, leading to impact in energy, health and semiconductors

From one atom to world-scale impact

Every discovery feeds the next. Results at the end of the chain – data from devices in the field – feed back into how we design the next material.

  1. Programming atomsQuantum electron engineering, super-exchange, ion transport tuning
  2. Tuning natureBorophene, h-BN aerogels, graphene, GaN, 2D stacks
  3. Developing 2D devicesElectronic skin, printable sensors, battery electrodes, photonics
  4. Building 3D architecturesBN separators, air-breathing cathodes, nano-tattoos, quantum SiC
  5. Practical devices and AIBatteries, biosensors, SiC chips, disease detection, materials discovery

Publications

Our work appears in PNAS, Nature Materials, JACS, Nano Letters, Chemistry of Materials and IEEE Electron Device Letters – 32 journal papers and 21 patents and patent applications.

  • Nature Materials 2009

    Three-dimensional nanopillar array photovoltaics on low cost and flexible substrates

  • JACS 2010

    Shape-controlled synthesis of single-crystalline nanopillar arrays by template-assisted vapor-liquid-solid process

  • Nano Letters 2014

    Performance enhancement of a graphene-zinc phosphide solar cell using the electric field-effect

  • Nano Letters 2012

    Screening-engineered field-effect solar cells

  • Chemistry of Materials 2024

    Atomistic origins of various luminescent centers and n-type conductivity in GaN

  • IEEE Electron Device Letters 2023

    Digitize the human body by backscattering based nano-tattoos: Battery-free sensing

All journal papers 32
  1. Y. Sezen, N. O. Çiftçi, M. A. Sarsıl, K. Czelej, O. Ergen, “Quantum coherent Chladni-like resonance: Programming ions as matter waves for subpicosecond conduction,” PNAS 123(23), e2604081123 (2026).
  2. K. M. Salman, M. Mansoor, M. Zikriya, O. Ergen, C. G. Renuka, “Interface and strain engineering of thickness-dependent band gap widening in Mg doped ZnO nanofibrous thin films for photovoltaic applications,” Applied Surface Science 730, 166252 (2026).
  3. H. Mahdavi, M. Mansoor, O. Ergen, U. Ünal, H. Jahangiri, “Boron-doped NiCoCuMoMn high-entropy alloys for enhanced electrocatalytic water splitting,” ACS Applied Energy Materials 8(24), 17793–17804 (2025).
  4. M. A. Sarsıl, M. Mansoor, M. Saraçoğlu, S. Timur, O. Ergen, “Mapping strain at the atomic scale with PyNanospacing: An AI-assisted approach to TEM image processing and visualization,” Computer Physics Communications, 109954 (2025).
  5. M. Mansoor et al., O. Ergen, K. Czelej, “Optical centers in Cr-, Mn-, and O-doped AlN and their thermodynamic stability designed by a multiscale computational approach,” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 16(50), 69529–69547 (2024).
  6. K. Czelej, M. Mansoor, et al., O. Ergen, “Atomistic origins of various luminescent centers and n-type conductivity in GaN,” Chemistry of Materials 36(13) (2024).
  7. M. Ergen, B. Saoud, I. Shayea, A. A. El-Saleh, O. Ergen, F. Inan, “Edge computing in future wireless networks: A comprehensive evaluation and vision for 6G and beyond,” ICT Express (2024).
  8. O. Karaarslan, K. D. Belcastro, O. Ergen, “Respiratory sound-base disease classification and characterization with deep/machine learning techniques,” Biomedical Signal Processing and Control 87, 105570 (2024).
  9. N. O. Çiftçi, S. B. Şentürk, Y. Sezen, S. Ü. Kaykusuz, H. Long, O. Ergen, “Controllable synthesis of borophene aerogels by utilizing h-BN layers for high-performance next-generation batteries,” PNAS 120(42), e2307537120 (2023).
  10. K. D. Belcastro, O. Ergen, “Digitize the human body by backscattering based nano-tattoos: Battery-free sensing,” IEEE Electron Device Letters 44(5), 849–852 (2023).
  11. O. Ergen, N. O. Çiftçi, Ö. İbiş, “Simple air blow to charge Li-air, rechargeable, solid-state batteries using nano-engineered aerogel structures,” Electrochemistry Communications, 107379 (2022).
  12. G. Tanriver, M. S. Tekkesin, O. Ergen, “Automated detection and classification of oral lesions using deep learning to detect oral potentially malignant disorders,” Cancers (2021).
  13. O. Ergen, “Robust atrial fibrillation monitoring utilizing graphene aerogel-based nano-tattoo,” Materials Letters, 129525 (2021).
  14. O. Ergen, “Graphene aerogel based nanogenerators for health monitoring,” European Journal of Science and Technology (21), 665–668 (2021).
  15. O. Ergen, E. Celik, A. H. Unal, M. H. Erdolu, F. E. Sarac, U. Unal, “Real time chemical and mechanical human motion monitoring with aerogel based wearable sensors,” Lab on a Chip 20, 2689–2695 (2020).
  16. O. Ergen, E. Celik, A. H. Unal, M. H. Erdolu, “Screen engineered field effect Cu2O based solar cells,” IEEE Electron Device Letters (2020).
  17. O. Ergen, “Hexagonal boron nitride incorporation to achieve high performance Li4Ti5O12 electrodes,” AIP Advances 10, 045040 (2020).
  18. G. Iymen, G. Tanriver, Y. Z. Hayirlioğlu, O. Ergen, “Artificial intelligence-based identification of butter variations as a model study for detecting food adulteration,” Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, 102527 (2020).
  19. G. Iymen, G. Tanriver, O. Ergen, “Selected applications of generative adversarial networks: Mini review,” COJ Robotics & Artificial Intelligence 1(2), 000506 (2020).
  20. M. Ergen, F. Inan, O. Ergen, I. Shayea, M. F. Tuysuz, A. Azizan, N. K. Ure, M. Nekovee, “Edge on wheels with OMNIBUS networking in 6G technology,” IEEE Access (2020).
  21. A. Zahedi, M. Ergen, O. Ergen, I. Shayea, A. El-Saleh, “Effective capacity and outage probability assessment of multiple-relay cognitive communication systems in Nakagami-m and Rayleigh fading channel,” Transactions on Emerging Telecommunications Technologies 31(4), 3841 (2019).
  22. O. Ergen et al., “AI driven advanced Internet of Things (IoTX²): The future seems irreversibly connected in medicine,” Anatolian Journal of Cardiology 23(3) (2019).
  23. O. Ergen, S. M. Gilbert, S. J. Turner, A. Zettl, “Hexagonal boron nitride as a cationic diffusion barrier to form a graded band gap perovskite heterostructure,” Physica Status Solidi (b) (2016).
  24. O. Ergen, A. Gibb, O. Vazquez-Mena, W. R. Regan, A. Zettl, “Metal insulator semiconductor solar cell devices based on a Cu2O substrate utilizing h-BN as an insulating and passivating layer,” Applied Physics Letters 106, 103904 (2015).
  25. O. Vazquez-Mena, J. P. Bosco, O. Ergen, et al., “Performance enhancement of a graphene-zinc phosphide solar cell using the electric field-effect,” Nano Letters 14(8), 4280–4285 (2014).
  26. W. Regan, S. Byrnes, W. Gannett, O. Ergen, O. Vazquez-Mena, F. Wang, A. Zettl, “Screening-engineered field-effect solar cells,” Nano Letters 12(8), 4300–4304 (2012).
  27. K. Cho, D. J. Ruebusch, M. H. Lee, J. H. Moon, A. C. Ford, R. Kapadia, K. Takei, O. Ergen, A. Javey, “Molecular monolayers for conformal, nanoscale doping of InP nanopillar photovoltaics,” Applied Physics Letters 98, 203101 (2011).
  28. O. Ergen, D. Ruebusch, H. Fang, A. Rathore, R. Kapadia, Z. Fan, K. Takei, A. Jamshidi, M. Wu, A. Javey, “Shape-controlled synthesis of single-crystalline nanopillar arrays by template-assisted vapor-liquid-solid process,” Journal of the American Chemical Society 132(40), 13972–13974 (2010).
  29. Z. Fan, D. J. Ruebusch, A. A. Rathore, R. Kapadia, O. Ergen, P. W. Leu, A. Javey, “Challenges and prospects of nanopillar based solar cells,” Nano Research 2, 829–843 (2009).
  30. Z. Fan, H. Razavi, J. Do, A. Moriwaki, O. Ergen, Y.-L. Chueh, et al., “Three dimensional nanopillar array photovoltaics on low cost and flexible substrates,” Nature Materials 8, 648–653 (2009).
  31. J. C. Ho, A. C. Ford, Y.-L. Chueh, P. Leu, O. Ergen, K. Takei, et al., “Nanoscale doping of InAs via sulfur monolayers,” Applied Physics Letters 95, 072108 (2009).
  32. A. C. Ford, J. C. Ho, Z. Fan, O. Ergen, V. Altoe, S. Aloni, H. Razavi, A. Javey, “Synthesis, contact printing, and device characterization of Ni-catalyzed, crystalline InAs nanowires,” Nano Research 1, 32–39 (2008).
Patents and patent applications 21
  1. O. Ergen, “Programmable boron nitride aerogels and processes for producing the same,” 25205711.2-1014 (2025).
  2. O. Ergen, “Quantum phonon engineering for accelerated single crystalline silicon and wide bandgap silicon carbide, GaN crystalline growth,” U.S. Patent Application 63/601,225 (2023).
  3. N. O. Çiftçi, O. Ergen, “Multielement aerogels: High entropy compositions of boron, carbon, nitrogen, and associated compound aerogels,” U.S. Patent Application 63/606,053 (2023).
  4. O. Ergen, “NanoDermis: The 3D printed 2D substrate revolutionizing chemical vapor deposition in nanoconfined spaces and programmable matter,” U.S. Patent Application 63/602,629 (2023).
  5. O. Ergen, “Multi-dimensional nanostructured aerogels: Tailored band gaps and heterostructures for advanced electronic materials,” U.S. Patent Application 63/601,237 (2023).
  6. O. Ergen, “Maximizing H2 storage efficiency through boron nitride aerogel fibers utilizing AI-assisted electrical pulses: Programmable activation surfaces,” U.S. Patent Application 63/602,633 (2023).
  7. O. Ergen, “Method of controllable synthesis of borophene aerogels by utilizing h-BN layers for high-performance batteries,” U.S. Patent Application 63/589,585 (2023).
  8. O. Ergen, “Method and system for forming an electrolyte separator using a silica network incorporated with hexagonal boron nitride,” U.S. Patent Application 63/580,571 (2023).
  9. M. Ergen, O. Ergen, M. F. Tuysuz, “Method and system for sharing Wi-Fi in a Wi-Fi network using a cloud platform,” U.S. Patent 11,259,243 (2022).
  10. M. Ergen, O. Ergen, M. F. Tuysuz, “Method and system for contact tracing using a software development kit (SDK) integrated into client devices,” U.S. Patent Application 16/900,484.
  11. O. Ergen, A. K. Zettl, “High temperature Li-ion battery cells utilizing boron nitride aerogels and boron nitride nanotubes,” U.S. Patent 11,223,071 (2022).
  12. O. Ergen, “Method of growing large scale stable borophene using 2D layered and 3D aerogel templates for ultra-fast charging batteries,” 63169965 (2021).
  13. O. Ergen, “Automated oral cancer screening: Detection and classification of oral lesions using deep learning to detect oral potentially malignant disorders,” 63164594 (2021).
  14. O. Ergen, “Method and system for hexagonal boron nitride incorporation to achieve high-performance lithium-based electrodes,” U.S. Patent Application 63147776 (2021).
  15. O. Ergen, “Method and system for forming an electrolyte separator using a silica network incorporated with hexagonal boron nitride,” U.S. Patent Application 63147778 (2021).
  16. O. Ergen, “Method and system for forming an electrolyte separator with additive boron nitride structures, using acid-stable plasticizer,” U.S. Patent Application 63147779 (2021).
  17. O. Ergen, “Method and system for providing silica networked hybrid, gel polymer, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) electrolyte for use with liquid organic electrolyte structures,” U.S. Patent Application 63147780 (2021).
  18. O. Ergen, “Method and system for application of protective boundary on capacitor walls to prevent loss of hydrogen at high temperatures and/or high voltages in electrical storage devices,” U.S. Patent Application 63147781 (2021).
  19. O. Ergen, “Artificial intelligence-based food fraud/adulteration identification utilizing simple sound vibrations,” U.S. Patent Application 63090231 (2020).
  20. O. Ergen, A. Zettl, “High temperature Li-ion battery cells utilizing boron nitride aerogels and boron nitride nanotubes,” U.S. Patent 10,686,227 (2020).
  21. O. Ergen, A. Zettl, “Graded band gap perovskite solar cells,” U.S. Patent 10,403,708 (2019).
Conference proceedings 3
  1. O. Ergen, “In operando noninvasive lithium-ion battery health diagnoses utilizing sound waves,” 7th International Congress on Engineering, Architecture, and Design (2021).
  2. O. Ergen, “Cost effective grid edge management utilizing wireless information,” International Congress on Engineering Sciences and Multidisciplinary Approaches (2021).
  3. O. Ergen, “ZnO nanowire embedded graphene aerogel nanogenerators,” International Congress of Natural Sciences (2021).

From the lab to the market

We turn research into companies, supported by European, Finnish and US innovation funding.

NSF invested

Next-Ion Energy

A material that makes batteries fire-proof and lets them charge from nearly empty to almost full in minutes. The same material keeps data centres cooler: it fills the tiny gaps between hot chips and their cooling systems and pulls heat away faster, so fans and air-conditioning work less. One platform for two big problems – safer batteries for EVs and phones, and lower energy bills for AI data centres.

2025 Horizon Europe Seal of Excellence (Next-Ion 101217511)

Business Finland

QuantumSiC

Applies the Quantum Phonon Aggregation Method to grow silicon carbide faster and at lower temperatures than today’s furnaces – a new industrial process for semiconductor manufacturing.

Supported by Business Finland

ERC Starting Grant

QUEEN

Brings the QUEEN battery platform to market: quantum electron engineering that redesigns energy-storage chemistry to reach capacity and cycle life beyond today’s theoretical limits.

Built on ERC-funded research

In development

NanoTatt

Turns our nano-tattoo sensors into a commercial wearable for continuous heart monitoring, sweat analysis and motion tracking – printable on skin, battery-free, backscatter-based.

Featured in IEEE Spectrum

Team

Portrait of Assoc. Prof. Onur Ergen

Assoc. Prof. Onur Ergen, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator. Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, and Institute of Nanotechnology, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-NANOTEC). Advisor to the Rector on Research and Development.

Onur Ergen holds MS, MA and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Physics from the University of California, Berkeley. Before joining ITU, he worked on semiconductor technologies at Intel, developed automated systems and AI interfaces at Apple, contributed to R&D at SoloPower, and was a senior technologist at Ambeent, building AI algorithms for 5G platforms.

He has published more than 30 journal papers and holds more than 20 patents and patent applications. His awards include an ERC Starting Grant and the TÜBA-GEBİP Outstanding Young Scientist Award from the Turkish Academy of Sciences.

The EQAL research group on the Bosphorus shore at night, with the Bosphorus Bridge behind them
The EQAL group on the Bosphorus, Istanbul.

We are hiring

We are always looking for Master’s students, Ph.D. candidates and postdoctoral researchers – especially with backgrounds in machine learning and AI, materials science, or electrical engineering.

Apply now

Teaching

Undergraduate, Master’s and Ph.D. courses at Istanbul Technical University and Koç University.

Modern Physics and Neural Networks

Quantum mechanics, wave–particle duality, special relativity and atomic structure; plus artificial neural networks and deep learning for engineering.

  • Modern Physics (BS)Fall 2025
  • Artificial Neural Networks (BS/MS)Fall 2021–2025

Computer-Aided Devices in Medicine

Biomedical sensors, AI-assisted diagnostics, wearable devices and computational methods for medical imaging.

  • Computer-Aided Devices in Medicine (BS/MS/PhD)Spring 2021–2025

VLSI Design and Microelectronics

CMOS design, logic synthesis, layout, timing analysis and transistor-level circuit design, through to VLSI fabrication.

  • Digital Integrated Circuit and VLSI Design (BS/MS)Spring 2018–2020
  • Microelectronics Circuits and Devices (BS/MS)Spring 2018–2020
  • Basic Electronic Circuits (BS)Spring 2022
  • Basic Processes in VLSI Technologies (PhD)Fall 2021

Emerging Energy Technologies

Solar cells, fuel cells, next-generation batteries, thermoelectrics and piezoelectric energy harvesting.

  • Fundamentals of Emerging Energy Technologies and Devices (BS/MS)Fall 2017–2019

News

  1. May 2026

    Ions programmed as matter waves – in PNAS

    Our Chladni-like ionic resonance paper is accepted, edited by David A. Weitz of Harvard University.

  2. 2026

    EIC funding for BNAG

    Our spin-off is funded by the European Innovation Council for a boron–carbon–nitrogen aerogel that moves heat but blocks current.

  3. 2025

    Seal of Excellence for GAMBIT

    Horizon Europe recognises GAMBIT (101248718), B-C-N quantum materials for batteries and sensors.

  4. 2025

    Seal of Excellence for Next-Ion

    Next-Ion (101217511) is recognised for safer, ultra-fast-charging battery separators.

  5. 2025

    Business Finland backs QuantumSiC

    Support for low-temperature silicon carbide growth with the Quantum Phonon Aggregation Method.

  6. 2023

    Borophene aerogels in PNAS

    A new synthesis route opens Na-ion, Mg-ion, Ca-ion and Li-S batteries. Edited by Alexis Bell, UC Berkeley.

  7. June 2023

    Nano-tattoos featured in IEEE Spectrum

    Battery-free, wire-free skin sensors that talk to a smartphone.

  8. 2022

    ERC Starting Grant for QUEEN

    €1.4 million from the European Research Council – the first ERC project at ITU.

  9. 2021

    TÜBA-GEBİP award

    Outstanding Young Scientist Award from the Turkish Academy of Sciences.

Onur Ergen receiving the TÜBA-GEBİP award on stage
Receiving the TÜBA-GEBİP award
Hürriyet Pazar newspaper interview: Gelişmiş piller Türkiye ekonomisi için bir fırsat
Interview in Hürriyet Pazar, 13 February 2022
News article: Pilin geleceğini değiştiren proje
“Pilin geleceğini değiştiren proje” – national press, 22 January 2022

Join us or work with us

Prospective students, postdocs, industry partners and journalists are welcome. Tell us a little about yourself and what you have in mind.

Email
oergen@itu.edu.tr
Istanbul
Istanbul Technical University
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Lecce
Institute of Nanotechnology, National Research Council (CNR-NANOTEC)
Campus Ecotekne, Via per Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy

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