Tuning exciton-polaritons in van der Waals heterostructures. 01/11/2024 - 31/10/2025

Abstract

The study of excitons in two-dimensional materials is rapidly evolving with promising applications in various fields such as optoelectronics and quantum information. Of particular interest are the excitons in van der Waals bilayers where the electrons and holes are confined in different layers giving rise to dipolar interactions and long life times. Their properties can be tuned by applying pressure, electric fields or by inducing a moiré modulation by twisting the layers. When a two-dimensional material is embedded in an optical microcavity, it can give rise to the formation of hybrid light-matter quasi-particles, the so-called exciton-polaritons. In this project, we wish to explore theoretically the properties of such exciton-polaritons and exploit their tunability in order to give them desirable properties. In particular, a long standing goal in the field of polariton physics is the realisation of polariton-polariton interactions that are larger than their linewidth and allow to reach exotic phases of strongly correlated photons. A large part of this project will be devoted to the study of the interactions between the polaritons and the exploration of how to enhance them by controlling experimental parameters, in particular the moiré-induced potential. In the second part of the project, we will investigate the many body polariton phases that can be realised with this system, taking into account the particularities of the system unveiled in the first part of our study.

Researcher(s)

Research team(s)

Project type(s)

  • Research Project