Project

HITEC - High Temperature Exciton Condensation in 2D Colloidal Nanoplatelets

Code
3G037221
Duration
01 January 2021 → 31 December 2024
Funding
Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)
Research disciplines
  • Natural sciences
    • Nanophysics and nanosystems
    • Nonlinear optics and spectroscopy
    • Photonics, optoelectronics and optical communications
    • Optical properties of materials
    • Chemistry of clusters, colloids and nanomaterials
Keywords
Colloidal nanocrystals
 
Project description

With the advent of a second quantum revolution in opto-electronics, the quantum nature of light and matter are being exploited for applications in communication, computing and sensing. A condensate of two-dimensional (2D) excitons, bosons comprised of strongly bound electron-hole pairs, is a key building block in this respect, as it can act as a superfluid with low resistance or as a low-power coherent light source. Experimental realization of such condensates at elevated temperatures are often hampered by either limitations to vary the physical parameters of the 2D exciton gas - due to restrictions in materials fabrication - or the limits imposed by existing materials themselves. In HITEC, we will use a combinatory approach to achieve exciton condensation at elevated temperatures. In particular, we will build on a wide suite of early stage physical observations and synthetic methods to design a class optimized 2D excitonic materials, based on so-called colloidal II-VI nanoplatelets. In combination with advanced femtosecond spectroscopy and single particle microscopy, these bottom-up nanomaterials will be optimized using novel core/shell architectures, to obtain specific (multi-)exciton properties and interactions required to achieve high-temperature exciton condensation, a result that will be a breakthrough for both colloidal 2D materials and quantum photonics in general.