Optical spectroscopies have contributed immensely to the present understanding of metals, semiconductors and superconductors. Unfortunately, optics encounters problems when it comes to “seeing” effects at length scales below the diffraction limit of light and also with probing physics outside of the light cone. Both capabilities are highly desirable for the exploration of quantum physics of new quantum materials. Over the last decade or so, our group has developed and deployed scanning-probe nano-optical methods for the nano-scale spectroscopy and imaging of complex materials. In this talk, I will discuss our progress with the understanding of the electronic phenomena in atomically layered van der Waals (vdW) materials, all empowered by deeply subdiffractional nano-light imaging. I will focus on two recent results: 1) Good plasmons in a bad metal: MoOCl_2 is the latest addition to hyperbolic vdW materials with non-trivial electrodynamics spanning a broad range of frequencies from mid-IR to visible [Frank Ruta et al. Science 387, 786 (2025)]; 2) vdW waveguide quantum electrodynamics: we observed notable Purcell enhancement of the spontaneous emission produced by MoTe_2 monolayers integrated in WSe_2 waveguides [Sam Moore et al. Nature Photonics (2025)].
Dmitri N. Basov (PhD 1991) is a Higgins professor and Chair of the Department of Physics at Columbia University [http://infrared.cni.columbia.edu], the Director of the DOE Energy Frontiers Research Center on Programmable Quantum Materials [since 2018] and co-director of Max Planck Society – New York Center for Nonequilibrium Quantum Phenomena [2018-2030]. He has served as a professor (1997-2016) and Chair (2010-2015) of Physics, University of California San Diego. Research interests include: physics of quantum materials, superconductivity, two-dimensional materials, infrared nano-optics. Prizes and recognitions: Sloan Fellowship (1999), Genzel Prize (2014), Humboldt research award (2009), Frank Isakson Prize, American Physical Society (2012), Moore Investigator (2014, 2020), K.J. Button Prize (2019), Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (U.S. Department of Defense, 2019), National Academy of Sciences (2020).
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2025-03-27T10:00:002025-03-27T11:00:00Shedding nano-light on quantum materialsEvent Information:
Optical spectroscopies have contributed immensely to the present understanding of metals, semiconductors and superconductors. Unfortunately, optics encounters problems when it comes to “seeing” effects at length scales below the diffraction limit of light and also with probing physics outside of the light cone. Both capabilities are highly desirable for the exploration of quantum physics of new quantum materials. Over the last decade or so, our group has developed and deployed scanning-probe nano-optical methods for the nano-scale spectroscopy and imaging of complex materials. In this talk, I will discuss our progress with the understanding of the electronic phenomena in atomically layered van der Waals (vdW) materials, all empowered by deeply subdiffractional nano-light imaging. I will focus on two recent results: 1) Good plasmons in a bad metal: MoOCl_2 is the latest addition to hyperbolic vdW materials with non-trivial electrodynamics spanning a broad range of frequencies from mid-IR to visible [Frank Ruta et al. Science 387, 786 (2025)]; 2) vdW waveguide quantum electrodynamics: we observed notable Purcell enhancement of the spontaneous emission produced by MoTe_2 monolayers integrated in WSe_2 waveguides [Sam Moore et al. Nature Photonics (2025)].
Dmitri N. Basov (PhD 1991) is a Higgins professor and Chair of the Department of Physics at Columbia University [http://infrared.cni.columbia.edu], the Director of the DOE Energy Frontiers Research Center on Programmable Quantum Materials [since 2018] and co-director of Max Planck Society – New York Center for Nonequilibrium Quantum Phenomena [2018-2030]. He has served as a professor (1997-2016) and Chair (2010-2015) of Physics, University of California San Diego. Research interests include: physics of quantum materials, superconductivity, two-dimensional materials, infrared nano-optics. Prizes and recognitions: Sloan Fellowship (1999), Genzel Prize (2014), Humboldt research award (2009), Frank Isakson Prize, American Physical Society (2012), Moore Investigator (2014, 2020), K.J. Button Prize (2019), Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (U.S. Department of Defense, 2019), National Academy of Sciences (2020).Event Location:
BRIM 111