Descrizione del progetto
Polaritoni intersottobanda: aprire la strada a un’optoelettronica senza precedenti
L’optoelettronica integra l’uso dell’elettronica con l’interazione tra luce e materia. Questa sta aprendo nuove strade nell’ambito di comunicazioni ottiche, illuminazione, sensori ottici e celle solari. La maggior parte dei dispositivi optoelettronici si basa sul cosiddetto accoppiamento debole tra luce e materia. Un accoppiamento forte tra le due può portare alla formazione di polaritoni di cavità, che sono in parte luce e in parte eccitazione della materia. Nei semiconduttori, gli eccitoni-polaritoni sono il tipo di sistema ad accoppiamento forte più studiato. Recentemente è stato scoperto un nuovo tipo di eccitazione: i polaritoni intersottobanda. Il progetto MIR-BOSE, finanziato dall’UE, intende dimostrarne il potenziale con dispositivi optoelettronici completamente nuovi per il medio e il lontano infrarosso, basati sui polaritoni intersottobanda e sulla condensazione di Bose-Einstein.
Obiettivo
Optoelectronic devices typically operate in the weak coupling regime between light and matter, for example in conventional lasers relying on population inversion to achieve optical gain. Recently there has been a surge of interest in quantum systems operating instead in the strong coupling regime, when the coupling strength of the light-matter interaction is so strong that new states – cavity polaritons – are created, that are partially light, partially material excitation. In semiconductors, exciton-polaritons have been the most widely studied type of strongly coupled system. Recently a new phenomenon has been realized exploiting intersubband transitions. The resulting excitations are called intersubband polaritons, and they have two remarkable properties: (i) a bosonic character that is maintained up to high carrier densities since they are not restricted by the Mott transition limit; (ii) large Rabi splittings. Although the scientific community has explored the basic science of intersubband polaritons, their potential for future and innovative optoelectronic devices has been entirely untapped.
The MIR-BOSE project will realize this potential, and demonstrate disruptive optoelectronic devices operating in the strong coupling regime between light and matter. We will demonstrate the first bosonic lasers operating in the mid-IR and THz ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum. Laser action here does not rely on population inversion, so we will achieve temperature independent operation and high powers. We will demonstrate a new concept of inverse-Q-switching leading to the generation of high power pulses in the mid-IR, overcoming severe bottlenecks in current technology. Finally, we will demonstrate non-classical/quantum light sources and devices, generating squeezed states of light in the mid-IR/THz spectral range for quantum optics. These new sources will have a major impact on several technologies and applications, being advantageous compared to current solutions.
Campo scientifico
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicsoptoelectronics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticslaser physicsultrafast lasers
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicssemiconductivity
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesquantum physicsquantum optics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticslaser physicspulsed lasers
Programma(i)
Invito a presentare proposte
Vedi altri progetti per questo bandoBando secondario
H2020-FETOPEN-1-2016-2017
Meccanismo di finanziamento
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinatore
91190 Gif-Sur-Yvette
Francia