Extreme photonics of quantum two-dimensional materials

当强烈的红外激光场照射晶体时，极端非线性的相互作用将入射的红外光子转换为更高能量的光子，在可见光和真空紫外频率下-高次谐波。这种强烈相互作用的独特之处在于创造了一种只有几纳米长的短寿命（高达几飞秒，或10-15秒）真正的量子天线。与普通天线类似，这种量子天线可以感知晶体的属性，以及相互作用本身，这是其他方式无法访问的。过去的研究集中在微小的晶体，所谓的带状绝缘体和半导体，现代材料科学的边缘。相反，为这项发现补助金提出的研究旨在利用量子材料所展示的丰富物理学，如超导性和其他强相关现象，有序相，拓扑结构。理解和驯服这些现象将引领社会进入“量子时代”，并为加拿大和世界带来技术创新的影响。 具体来说，我的工作将集中在二维货车德瓦耳斯材料及其异质结构。这类晶体通过以受控的方式在类似或不同的晶体层上堆叠层来展示量子材料的所有奇异特性。“按需”拨入物理学的能力使货车德瓦耳斯异质结构成为材料科学中最具活力的领域之一。利用高次谐波产生过程中产生的量子天线，我将开发新的方法来测量控制奇异物理的量，如Berry曲率和Moire势。与此同时，我计划利用货车德瓦耳斯界面的原子尺度控制来控制量子天线，以创造更高效的短波长光源。 这项研究将为量子固体的动力学非平衡性质提供一个新的视角。这种独特的视角预计将有助于加拿大未来量子技术的发展。

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.