light-matter interaction tagged posts

Researchers at Purdue University have discovered new waves with picometer-scale spatial variations of electromagnetic fields that can propagate in semiconductors like silicon. The research team, led by Dr. Zubin Jacob, Elmore Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Department of Physics and Astronomy, published their findings in Physical Review Applied in a paper titled “Picophotonics: Anomalous Atomistic Waves in Silicon.”

“The word microscopic has its origins in the length scale of a micro...

Image of photonic hypercrystals courtesy of Tal Galfsky

Control of light-matter interaction is central to fundamental phenomena and technologies such as photosynthesis, lasers, LEDs and solar cells. City College of New York researchers have now demonstrated a new class of artificial media called photonic hypercrystals that can control light-matter interaction in unprecedented ways. This could lead to such benefits as ultrafast LEDs for Li-Fi (a wireless technology that transmits high-speed data using visible light communication), enhanced absorption in solar cells and the development of single photon emitters for quantum information processing, said Vinod M. Menon, professor of physics in City College’s Division of Science.

Photonic crystals and metamaterials are two of the most well-known...