Development of frequency tunable mid-infrared optoelectronic system to probe and manipulate topological quantum materials
Abstract
We propose to build a variable temperature mid-infrared optoelectronic property measurement set up to probe in great detail the topological quantum materials via an interplay of intrinsic band topology and tailored field gradients and/or polarizations to produce nontrivial and unprecedented responses and functionalities. At the core of the proposal is to obtain a deeper understanding of light-matter interactions in topological quantum materials by experimentally seeking for optical responses with novel features and deriving response functions that describe these interactions to explain their optoelectronic properties. These materials support the most important signatures of topological band textures in the low energy excitation region, which we need to probe to obtain a much deeper understanding of these materials. Currently, we do not have access to mid-IR light sources and detectors along with a simple microscope to probe spatially-dependent properties. A tunable mid-IR laser, simple optics to assemble a home-made microscope, a detector along with an optical microscopy cryostat with mid-IR transmission windows would enable us to assemble a state-of-the-art optoelectronic probe system to study the low energy excitations in a variety of topological materials. With the background that most of the previous experimental advances on these materials have taken advantage of exploring and controlling topological response via applied magnetic field, we will focus on their unique optical responses, aiming to shed light on detection and manipulation of low energy fermionic quasiparticles in these systems and explore their properties for future device applications. The proposed home-built equipment will have a significant impact on the research, training and teaching program of the PI to extend the expertise into the long-wavelength optical range to probe topological material This work will significantly enhance our research currently supported by Dr. Joe QiuÕs program at the ARO.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 20, 2019
- Source ID
- W911NF1910155
Entities
People
- Ritesh Agarwal
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of Pennsylvania