Magnonics at the Nanoscale in Terahertz Cavities

Descripción del proyecto

Acoplamientos magnón-fotón ultrapotentes

El control del magnetismo con luz a escala nanométrica es fundamental para desarrollar las tecnologías de la información ultrarrápidas, como la transmisión de señales con bajo consumo energético y el procesamiento de datos a velocidades del terahercio. Los magnones (excitaciones cuantizadas de ondas de espín en materiales magnéticos) resultan prometedores para este fin, aunque su débil acoplamiento con los fotones dificulta la integración de estos sistemas en dispositivos a gran escala. En el proyecto MagNaTeC, financiado por las acciones Marie Skłodowska-Curie, se desarrollarán cavidades de metamateriales de sublongitud de onda que amplifican el campo magnético de la luz, lo que permitirá acoplamientos ultrapotentes entre magnones y fotones en una monocapa de FePS3. Para lograrlo, los investigadores combinarán su experiencia en electrodinámica cuántica de cavidades en el rango de los terahercios con equipos de última generación y asesoramiento especializado.

Objetivo

Controlling magnetism with light at the nanoscale is essential for developing ultrafast information technologies such as terahertz-speed data processing, energy-efficient signal transmission, and hybrid quantum devices. Magnons, the quantized spin-wave excitations in magnetically ordered materials, naturally oscillate in the terahertz regime in antiferromagnets and transport spin without charge, making them promising carriers for low-loss, high-speed information transfer. Yet direct magnon–photon coupling is intrinsically weak; in the terahertz regime prior demonstrations have relied on bulk crystals or extreme free-space fields, which are incompatible with scalable device architectures. This challenge is magnified in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals magnets, where the reduced interaction volume suppresses coupling further. MagNaTeC addresses this obstacle by developing subwavelength metamaterial cavities that amplify the magnetic field of light, enabling ultrastrong coupling of magnons and photons in monolayer FePS₃. Building on my expertise in terahertz cavity quantum electrodynamics, I will realize magnon-polaritons in the ultrastrong regime and extend this platform to nonlinear spectroscopy of cavity magnonics. The host laboratory of Prof. Andrea Cavalleri at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter provides the ideal environment with world-leading expertise in strong-field terahertz spectroscopy. This project will pioneer magnetic-field-enhancing cavity architectures, establish the first demonstration of ultrastrong magnon–photon coupling in a 2D antiferromagnet, and reveal nonlinear interactions. These results will advance fundamental cavity quantum electrodynamics with spin systems, lay the scientific foundation for energy-efficient magnonic circuits, and provide me with the interdisciplinary training and leadership skills to launch an independent career at the interface of condensed matter physics and quantum information science.