Project description
Smarter materials for controlling light on the nanoscale
Nanophotonics – the study of controlling light at extremely small scales – is evolving with the discovery of materials that can rapidly change how they interact with light. However, current materials face limitations, such as slow switch-off times, which limits their use in fast technologies. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the THEIA project will explore a new class of materials called altermagnets that have unique crystal structures enabling fast spin dynamics and slower electron dynamics. These properties render them ideal for non-linear optics and time-varying photonics. Researchers will characterise the optical properties of these materials, while also decoupling electron and spin dynamics. Ultimately, the team will use ultrafast pulses to explore the dynamics of the materials and use these to create a synthetic motion device to control light.
Objective
Nanophotonics are being revolutionized by the study of time-varying media, where abrupt changes of a system’s optical properties unlock new forms of control of light. Using nonlinear optics, one can switch-on optical properties of various materials on femtosecond time scales, but the switch-off time scales remain too slow and significantly constrain technological applications. To overcome this barrier, this project proposes to explore a new promising family of materials, altermagnets. Their unique crystal structure gives them a strong potential for nonlinear optics and time-varying photonics, as their switching using nonlinear optics will exhibit both fast spin dynamics and slower electron dynamics. This is due to their electronic bands being separated in energy by spin in the absence of magnetic fields, and being reliant on this altermagnetic phase. This will go beyond the state of the art in the field, as materials currently in use have slow switch-off times and fewer degrees of freedom to leverage. For example, transparent conductive oxides are known to have high switching contrast but slow electron-phonon relaxation. Semiconductors show higher speeds but low switching contrast, and the use of long-lived resonant metasurfaces to enhance this contrast only results in a slow switch-off speed. This project aims at performing a first linear and nonlinear optical characterisation of altermagnetic materials, and establishing them as a prime platform for time-varying nanophotonics. I will first determine the individual role of electron and spin dynamics by decoupling them through Z-scan measurements. Then, I will demonstrate another key properties, optical isolation, in a nonreciprocal pump-probe experiment. The final part of the project will accurately measure the dynamics of the materials with few-femtosecond pulses, and use these new dynamics to create a synthetic motion device which will control pulses in momentum and frequency by mimicking relativistic effects.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences electromagnetism and electronics semiconductivity
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nanophotonics
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
WC2R 2LS London
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.