Light Box That Opens New Doors Into the Nanoworld
June 11, 2019 | CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGYEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Researchers at Chalmers have discovered a completely new way of capturing, amplifying and linking light to matter at the nanolevel. Using a tiny box, built from stacked atomically thin material, they have succeeded in creating a type of feedback loop in which light and matter become one.
Image Caption: Using a box, built from stacked atomically thin layers of tungsten disulphide material (see the atomic model), Chalmers’ researchers have succeeded in creating a type of feedback loop in which light and matter become one. The box has a diameter of a mere 100 nanometres (0.00001 centimetres). Illustration: Denis Baranov and Yen Strandqvist
Photonics is concerned with various means of using light. Fibre-optic communication is an example of photonics, as is the technology behind photodetectors and solar cells. When the photonic components are so small that they are measured in nanometres, this is called nanophotonics. In order to push the boundaries of what is possible in this tiny format, progress in fundamental research is crucial. The innovative ‘light box’ of the Chalmers researchers makes the alternations between light and matter take place so rapidly that it is no longer possible to distinguish between the two states. Light and matter become one.
“We have created a hybrid consisting of equal parts of light and matter. The concept opens completely new doors in both fundamental research and applied nanophotonics and there is a great deal of scientific interest in this,” says Ruggero Verre, a researcher in the Department of Physics at Chalmers and one of the authors of the scientific article.
The discovery came about when Verre and his departmental colleagues Timur Shegai, Denis Baranov, Battulga Munkhbat and Mikael Käll combined two different concepts in an innovative way. Mikael Käll’s research team is working on what are known as nanoantennas, which can capture and amplify light in the most efficient way. Timur Shegai’s team is conducting research into a certain type of atomically thin two-dimensional material known as TMDC material, which resembles graphene. It was by combining the antenna concept with stacked two-dimensional material that the new possibilities were created.
The researchers used a well-known TMDC material—tungsten disulphide—but in a new way. By creating a tiny resonance box—much like the sound box on a guitar—they were able to make the light and matter interact inside it. The resonance box ensures that the light is captured and bounces round in a certain ‘tone’ inside the material, thus ensuring that the light energy can be efficiently transferred to the electrons of the TMDC material and back again. It could be said that the light energy oscillates between the two states—light waves and matter—while it is captured and amplified inside the box. The researchers have succeeded in combining light and matter extremely efficiently in a single particle with a diameter of a mere 100 nanometres, or 0.00001 centimetres.
This all-in-one solution is an unexpected advance in fundamental research, but can hopefully also contribute to more compact and cost-effective solutions in applied photonics.
“We have succeeded in demonstrating that stacked atomically thin materials can be nanostructured into tiny optical resonators, which is of great interest for photonics applications. Since this is a new way of using the material, we are calling this ‘TMDC nanophotonics’. I am certain that this research field has a bright future,” says Timur Shegai, Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at Chalmers and one of the authors of the article.
Suggested Items
Gartner Forecasts Worldwide IT Spending to Grow 8% in 2024
04/17/2024 | Gartner, Inc.Worldwide IT spending is expected to total $5.06 trillion in 2024, an increase of 8% from 2023, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc. This is an increase from the previous quarter’s forecast of 6.8% growth and puts worldwide IT spending on track to surpass $8 trillion well before the end of the decade.
Argonne, RIKEN Sign a Memorandum of Understanding in Support of AI for Science
04/16/2024 | BUSINESS WIRELeaders in high performance computing in the U.S. and Japan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) establishing a cooperative relationship in support of artificial intelligence (AI) computing projects.
RAICo Fellowship to Widen Participation Within the Field of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
04/12/2024 | RAICoWOMEN and those early in their academia career who are passionate about robotics and artificial intelligence are encouraged to apply for a RAICo Fellowship.
Indium to Host Free Webinar on Lead-Free Solder Paste for Automotive Applications
04/09/2024 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation’s Senior Research Metallurgist, Jie Geng, Ph.D., will conduct a webinar on low-voiding, high-reliability, lead-free solder paste for automotive applications.
SMTA Announces Program for High Reliability: Strategic Technology Advancement Research Forum
04/08/2024 | SMTAThe SMTA announced the finalized program for the High Reliability: Strategic Technology Advancement Research Forum which takes place on May 2, 2024 in Olathe, Kansas, USA. The event, now in its second year, addresses challenges for electronics manufacturers in the high reliability sector.