Description du projet
Des nanocristaux émetteurs de lumière prometteurs pour les applications quantiques
La superfluorescence décrit l’émission collective de lumière fluorescente par un ensemble d’atomes ou d’ions excités. Récemment, des recherches ont montré que les nanocristaux de pérovskite d’halogénure de plomb peuvent être assemblés en super-réseaux hautement ordonnés qui présentent une superfluorescence. Bien que ce phénomène optique inhabituel rende ce matériau utilisable dans les sources de lumière quantique, son origine exacte a fait l’objet de débats. Le projet PROMETHEUS, financé par l’UE, combinera la nanochimie, la spectroscopie et l’optique quantique pour faire progresser les connaissances dans ce domaine. Le concept révolutionnaire de PROMETHEUS repose sur le développement de nanocristaux solides couplés à la lumière et dotés d’interactions lumière-matière sophistiquées. Ces matériaux devraient permettre d’élargir le champ d’application des nanocristaux émissifs de toute forme et de tout matériau (pas seulement les pérovskites aux halogénures métalliques) dans les technologies quantiques.
Objectif
The time is right for light-emitting colloidal nanocrystals to meet the demands of the second quantum revolution. The cooperative emission (superfluorescence) was recently observed in the micron-sized solids of colloidal lead halide perovskite nanocrystals, offering a path to low-cost, solution-processed sources of bright and coherent light. Superfluorescence, characterized by high-intensity and ultrashort bursts of indistinguishable photons, makes nanocrystal solids desired targets for photonics and quantum information applications. However, the exact origin of the superfluorescence is debated, and the rules of nanomaterial design for on-demand cooperativity are unknown.
PROMETHEUS tackles these issues by combining nanochemistry with spectroscopy and tools of quantum optics. The project's approach consists of 1) synthesis and judicious selection of emissive metal halide nanocrystals with minimal exciton energy inhomogeneity, 2) accelerated self-assembly of nanocrystals into binary solids with a tunable fraction of emitters, 3) cryogenic micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy at the level of individual nanocrystal solids. The control of the coupling between emissive nanocrystals is achieved by diluting optically-dense nanocrystal solids with a second, transparent nanocrystal component. Measurements of spectroscopic observables, coherence, and photon statistics on single nanocrystal solids are used to dissect the roots and properties of cooperative emission.
The project introduces a concept of light-coupled nanocrystal solids where light-matter interactions are engineered through structure and composition. This concept goes beyond metal halides and applies to emissive nanocrystals of any shape, opening a class of colloidal nanomaterials with light emission controllable between single-particle and many-body regimes. Such materials are expected to expand applications of emissive nanocrystals in quantum technologies and yield new uses in materials science.
Champ scientifique
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Thème(s)
Régime de financement
ERC - Support for frontier research (ERC)Institution d’accueil
22100 Lund
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