Project description
2D metasurfaces for tunable, multifunctional optical elements
Recent research indicates that thin, nanostructured optical coatings can fulfil the same functions as traditional optical components. However, existing metasurface optical elements are static, necessitating the development of dynamically controllable optical elements. The ERC-funded ExMAM project aims to establish a new class of tunable and multifunctional optical elements by integrating advancements in 2D material science, quantum physics, and nanophotonics. This initiative will utilise monolayer 2D quantum materials to actively adjust the optical response of innovative nonlocal metasurfaces. The project will investigate the interaction between localised excitons and delocalised optical modes, facilitating the creation of highly compact optical elements with electrically tunable capabilities. This approach holds promise for applications in optical communication, augmented reality, and computational imaging.
Objective
Can light fields be manipulated by a single atomic layer? Can quantum mechanical effects in monolayer materials be harnessed to realize dynamic optical elements? Recent work has demonstrated that light-weight and ultra-thin nanostructured optical coatings (metasurfaces) can perform the same optical functions as conventional bulky optical components. Despite these advances, metasurface optical elements have remained static. At the same time, newly emerging and future applications require optical elements with dynamic control of their functionality.
Here, I propose to lay the foundations of a completely new class of tunable and multifunctional optical elements by combining recent developments in 2D material science, quantum physics, and nanophotonics, resulting in highly novel excitonic 2D metasurfaces.
Building on my strong expertise in the fields of optical metasurfaces and 2D material physics, I will employ monolayer 2D quantum materials to actively tune the optical response of novel nonlocal metasurfaces. These atomically-thin materials exhibit a strong quantum-mechanical exciton resonance in the visible spectral range, even at room temperature.
Using electrical control over this exciton resonance, I will study the interplay of localized excitons and delocalized optical modes. Next, I will realize ultracompact optical elements with electrically-tunable functionality. Finally, I will develop novel methods to combine stacked metasurfaces in compound meta-optics that offer multifunctional dynamic optical components.
The excitonic 2D metasurfaces open new routes to study the unconventional properties of quantum materials in quantum optics, nanophotonics, and solid-state physics. At the same time, the results of this project open an entirely new approach for the design of actively-tunable multifunctional flat optical components with applications in optical communication, augmented reality, and computational imaging.
Fields of science
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materialstwo-dimensional nanostructures
- natural sciencesphysical sciencescondensed matter physicssolid-state physics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesoptics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesquantum physicsquantum optics
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynanophotonics
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsHost institution
1012WX Amsterdam
Netherlands