Extreme photonics of quantum two-dimensional materials

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When intense infrared laser fields illuminate crystals, the extremely nonlinear interaction converts the incident infrared photons to higher-energy ones, at visible and vacuum ultraviolet frequencies - the high harmonics. Peculiar to this intense interaction is the creation of a short-lived (up to a few femtoseconds, or 10-15 seconds) veritable quantum antenna only few nanometers long. Similarly to ordinary antennas, this quantum antenna can sense properties of the crystal, and the interaction itself, that cannot be accessed by other means. Past research focused on trivial crystals, so-called band insulators and semiconductors, the fringes of modern material science. Research proposed for this Discovery Grant, instead, aims at exploiting the rich physics exhibited by quantum materials, such as superconductivity and other strongly correlated phenomena, ordered phases, topology. Understanding and taming these phenomena will usher society in the "quantum era", with a fallout of technological innovation for Canada and the world. Specifically, my work will focus on 2-dimensional van der Waals materials and their heterostructures. This class of crystals exhibit all the exotic properties of quantum materials by stacking layers over layers of similar or dissimilar crystals in a controlled fashion. The ability to dial-in the physics "on demand" makes van der Waals heterostructures one of the most vibrant fields of material science. Utilizing the quantum antenna created during high-harmonic generation, I will develop novel methodologies to measure quantities that control the exotic physics, such as Berry curvature and Moire' potentials. At the same time, I plan to use the atomic-scale control of van der Waals interfaces to control the quantum antenna to create more efficient short-wavelength sources. The proposed research will add a new insightful perspective to the dynamical non-equilibrium properties of quantum solids. Such unique perspective is expected to be instrumental to the development of future quantum technologies for Canada.