PhD

The objective of the project is to explore the potential of merging direct band gap Ge-based material for developing new electro-optical application with group IV elements such as optical sources in the NIR and the MIR.

 

followed PhD

PhD

Quantum simulation, first discussed by Richard Feynman, is an emerging experimental research field, which aims at understanding the eigenstates of quantum systems with many interacting particles. When the number of particles increases, the Hilbert space size diverges and the eigenstates are impossible to calculate with a classical computer. Richard Feynman proposed to learn about these eigenstates by realizing the experiment with a well-controlled artificial quantum system. While the most advanced platforms are cold atoms, trapped ions or superconducting loops, a very promising approach is to use photons in microcavities to realize such manybody quantum states. One advantage would be that multi photon entanglement could be imprinted on photons leaking out of the system, thus realizing a new source of quantum light.

Our group at C2N has developed a unique expertise of designing lattices of coupled microcavities and pioneered the emulation of different Hamiltonians with these lattices. We have realized the first topological laser with a 1D lattice, we are exploring Dirac physics with 2D honeycomb lattices, to name just a few examples.

To induce photon-photon interactions and progress toward the simulation of manybody physics, we mix the cavity photons with electronic excitations, named excitons, created in quantum wells located in the cavity. The resulting exciton-photon state, named cavity polaritons, shows significant interactions which have allowed demonstrating many fascinating properties such as superfluidity of light.

The challenge we propose now is to increase interactions to enter the strong quantum regime with single photon non-linearities. The work will start with the development and characterization of novel active materials, based on coupled quantum wells, which are expected to give rise to much stronger interactions. These interactions will be measured by detailed low temperature spectroscopy and photon correlations. The smoking gun evidence for the quantum regime will be the measure of single photon emission. Then we will implement manybody Hamiltonians of increasing complexity building larger and larger lattices, and we will probe their quantum properties.

The work will be essentially experimental, with low temperature optical spectroscopy on microcavities. The PhD student will participate to the processing of the samples, profiting from the unique technological environment that will be able in the new C2N clean room. This work is part of a large international collaboration and the PhD student will directly interact with scientists from other laboratories and particularly with theoreticians.

followed PhD

PhD

Centre de Nanosciences et nanotechnologies

 UMR 9001 du CNRS,

université Paris-Sud, université Paris-Saclay

91 405 Orsay – France

  

PhD research proposal

All-Dielectric Metamaterials for Terahertz metadevices

 Éric Akmansoy 

Département Photonique

__________________ 

 

General framework

Metamaterials have opened a new field in physics and engineering. Indeed, these artificial structured materials give rise to unnatural fascinating phenomena such as negative index, sub-wavelength focusing and cloaking. Metamaterials also exhibit near-zero refractive index [1]. These open a broad range of applications, from the microwave to the optical frequency domain. Metamaterials have now evolved towards the implementation of optical components[2]. 

We consider All-Dielectric Metamaterials which are the promising alternative to metallic metamaterials, because they do not suffer from ohmic losses and consequently benefit of low energy dissipation and because they are of simple geometry. They consist of high permittivity dielectric resonators involving Mie resonances. We have experimentally demonstrated negative effective permeability and/or permittivity by the means of all-dielectric metamaterials [3]. Previously, we have also demonstrated a negative index all-dielectric metamaterial [4]. Recently, we have numerically demonstrated a metadevice, namely, a metalens that focuses an incident plane wave, is less than one and a half wavelength thick. Its focal length is only a few wavelength and the spot in the focal plane is diffraction - limited.[5]. We also study role of the coupling of the modes of Mie resonances in an all-dielectric metamaterial so as to achieve negative index at terahertz frequencies (see fig. 1)[6].

Work Plan

During this thesis, all dielectric metamaterials will be designed, fabricated and characterized for the terahertz range. Negative index will be studied in this frequency domain, which is a challenge. Various devices which will be investigated such as flat lens, gradient devices, etc. This work takes place within a group of scientists of different disciplines (chemists, material scientists, physicists). 

 

 

Fig. 1: Spatial mode coupling : frequency of the first two modes of Mie resonances in function of the distance  between two resonators which is half the lattice period . The shaded area corresponds to negative value of the effective index . It evidences the mode degeneracy [6].

Bibliography

[1]    I. Liberal and N. Engheta, “Near-zero refractive index photonics,”  Nature Photonics, vol. 11, pp. 149 EP –, 03 2017.

[2]    N. I. Zheludev and Y. S. Kivshar, “From metamaterials to metadevices,”  Nat Mater, vol. 11, pp. 917–924, 11 2012.

[3]    T. Lepetit, E. Akmansoy, and J.-P. Ganne, “Experimental evidence of resonant effective permittivity in a dielectric metamaterial,” Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 109, no. 2, p. 023115, 2011.

[4]    T. Lepetit, É. Akmansoy, and J.-P. Ganne, “Experimental measurement of negative index in an all-dielectric metamaterial,” Applied Physics Letters, vol. 95, no. 12, p. 121101 (, 2009.

[5]    F. Gaufillet, S. Marcellin, and E. Akmansoy, “Dielectric metamaterial-based gradient index lens in the terahertz frequency range,” IEEE J Sel Top Quant, vol. 10. 1109/JSTQE. 2016. 2633825, 2017.

[6]    S. Marcellin and É. Akmansoy, “Negative index and mode coupling in all-dielectric metamaterials at terahertz frequencies,” in 2015 9th International Congress on Advanced Electromagnetic Materials in Microwaves and Optics (Metamaterials), pp. 4–6, Sept 2015.

PhD

  

Centre de Nanosciences et nanotechnologies

UMR 9001 du CNRS,

université Paris-Sud, université Paris-Saclay

91 405 Orsay – France

  

PhD research proposal

Graded Photonic Crystals Devices for Graded Index Optics

 Éric Akmansoy 

Département Photonique

__________________ 

 

General framework

On the one hand, Graded Photonic Crystals (GPC) allow to efficiently control the flow of light thanks to the shape of their photonic bands, which we verified by demonstrating a “photonic mirage” at wavelength scale[1]. In the other hand, GRaded INdex (GRIN) optics is undergoing a renewal because it allows to downsize optical systems, opening a new way to optical design[2]. But GRIN optics was limited by a lack of easy to implement fabrication techniques. Nanotechnology enables to efficiently fabricate photonic crystals, which we will implement to fabricate GPC for GRIN optics. 

We are designing, numerically simulating and characterising GPC devices (see fig.1)[3, 4]. More specifically, we have conceived a GRIN flat lens which we have characterised in the microwave[5]. Recently, we have designed and simulated a Luneburg lens[6] (see fig.1). We conceive thin and thick flat GRIN lenses[7]. For the sake, we engineer the equi-frequency curves which convey the dispersion properties of photonic crystals. Our aim is to go further up to the optical domain. The experimental evidence of such devices is an end in itself because it is a technological challenge to fabricate such GPC. Nevertheless, we will investigate the great variety of applications of GPC flat lens, which concerns Photonic Integrated Circuits, Lab on Chip, optical pumping of organic materials, OLED, biophotonics, fluorescence of cells, etc.

PhD work plan

GPC devices will be designed, fabricated and characterised at the Centre de Nanosciences et Nanotechnologies (C2N). This work will concern numerical simulation and optical design, nanotechnological processes and optical characterisation. These devices will operate at telecommunication wavelengths (1,55 μm). The Silicium On Insulator (SOI) channel of the C2N will be involved, because “state of the art" photonic crystal -based devices have already been fabricated in its clean-room [8]. These devices require the technological mastery of the position, of the size and of the shape of the patterns, which is adapted for the realisation of GPC devices. The size of the patterns of these latter is of several tens of nanometers, which will be challenging. The devices will be also characterised at the C2N. GPC devices operating in the near infrared (NIR) spectrum will also investigated (from 1 to 20μm) because, in this domain, lies a lot of molecular signatures, which is fruitful for NIR spectroscopy, chemical sensing, polluant detection, etc. 

      

 

Fig. 1: Right : Focusing by a GPC GRIN flat lens[3] ; left : focusing by a Luneburg lens[6] 

Bibliography

[1]    Éric Akmansoy, Emmanuel Centeno, Kevin Vynck, David Cassagne, and Jean-Michel Lourtioz, Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 133501 (2008) 

[2]    Predrag Milojkovic, Stefanie Tompkins, Ravindra Athale, Gradient Index Optics, Optical Engineering, November 2013/Vol. 52(11), p. 112101-1 

[3]    F. Gaufillet, É. Akmansoy, Graded photonic crystals for graded index lens, Optics Communications, Volume 285, 2638 (2012). 

[4]    F. Gaufillet, É. Akmansoy, Design of flat graded index lenses using dielectric Graded Photonic Crystals, Optical Materials, Vol. 47, 555-560 (2015) 

[5]    F. Gaufillet and E. Akmansoy. Design and experimental evidence of a flat graded-index photonic crystal lens. Journal of Applied Physics, 114(8) :083105, 2013. 

[6]    F. Gaufillet and E. Akmansoy. Graded photonic crystals for Luneburg lens, IEEE Photonics Journal, vol. 8, 11 (2016) 

[7]    CVI Melles Griot. Gradient-Index Lenses – http://pdf.directindustry.com/pdf/cvi-melles-griot/gradient-index-lenses/12567-66963.html. 

[8]    Z. Han, X. Checoury, D. Néel, S. David, M. El Kurdi, P. Boucaud, Optimized design for ultra-high Q silicon photonic crystal cavities, Optics Communications 283 (21) (2010) 4387 – 4391.