Meta-Cavity-Mediated Strong Light-Matter Coupling in Two-Dimensional Materials
Abstract
The emergence of new material platforms such as two-dimensional layered van der Waals materials and the development of novel engine,ered optical media such as plasmonic nanostructures, metamaterials and meta-surfaces have recently enabled breakthrough discoveries, and foundational explorations of extreme light-matter interaction regimes that have previously been inaccessible. One remarkable ex,ample of such phenomena is the strong light-matter coupling regime that uniquely leads to the formation of exotic hybridized light-m,ovel polaritonic quasiparticle states where both the light and matter constituents acquire properties that can be significantly diff,erent from their uncoupled states. This suggests superb opportunities to modify and extend the properties of optical systems in the, strong coupling regime beyond the standard operational limits and into previously unavailable regimes. By enabling new control chan,nels for the behavior of light and matter in the system, devices with unprecedented functionality can be engineered. Moreover, in th,e strong coupling regime achieving new quantum states of matter, such as polaritonic condensates become realizable. Matter when plac,ed inside a cavity, can also strongly coupled to vacuum fluctuating electromagnetic fields in the cavity even in the absence of any, external pumping. According to recent demonstrations, the quantum fluctuations of vacuum electromagnetic fields inside an optical c,avity can strongly couple to molecular materials and modify various physical and chemical properties of these materials. In this pro,posal we will study strong light-matter interaction effects in layered two dimensional (2D) crystalline materials coupled to meta-su,rface cavities (meta-cavities). We will leverage our teams expertise and many years of experience in nano-optics, quantum electroni,cs, semiconductors, metamaterials and meta-surfaces to study the strong coupling of vacuum fluctuating fields with carefully chosen, polaritonic materials and explore the fundamental and practical aspects of the strong coupling regime. We will also explore the fea,sibility of experimental demonstration of the first phonon-polariton condensation (PhP-BEC) upon further pumping of the hybrid coupl,ed system. Approach. The research will focus on investigating the strong coupling of meta-,red materials. Our emphasis will be on exploring new physics and the potential for the realization of new functional devices with gr,eatly enhanced capabilities in previously unavailable operational regimes. We will explore novel 2D layered polaritonic materials pl,atforms and develop experimentally fitted models to described their linear and nonlinear optical properties. Complementary ellipsome,tric-photometric measurements in the far field and near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) measurements are the ideal combinat,ion of tools to study the strong coupling effects of meta-cavity electromagnetic fields to 2D layered materials and to unveil the pr,operties of this system as well as to select the materials best suited for integration into a meta-cavity for strong coupling studie,s. Using our teams leading expertise in computational photonics, inverse design and machine learning, we will design meta-cavities, and study the strong coupling regimes between the cavities and 2D materials. We will experimentally demonstrate the strong coupling, regime in hybrid meta-cavity-2D-material systems. We will study the physics of the strongly coupled systems and explore possibiliti,es for achieving phonon-polariton condensation as well as its untapped potential applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 13, 2022
- Source ID
- N000142212485
Entities
People
- Alexandra Boltasseva
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- Purdue University
- United States Navy