Half Light-Half Matter Particles: Best of Both Worlds Unite In A Single Exciting Discovery
Half Light-Half Matter Particles: Best of Both Worlds Unite In A Single Exciting Discovery
Developing computing and communication technologies associated with quantum properties of light and matter may have taken a turn for the better what with research conducted by City College of New York physicists under the guidance of Dr. Vinod Menon shedding new light on the use of composite quantum particles.
From the Darkness to the Light
In a landmark study, the research team led by Professor Menon discovered half-light, half-matter particles in atomically thin semiconductors a millionth of a single sheet of paper comprising 2D or two dimensional layer of molybdenum and sulphur atoms arranged in a manner similar to graphene. This 2 dimensional material was encased in light trapping structures for the realisation of composite quantum particles.
Tapping Both Light and Matter
"Besides being a fundamental breakthrough, this opens up the possibility of making devices which take the benefits of both light and matter," Professor Menon was quoted as saying. Logic gates and signal processors can acquire the best features of both light and matter. This discovery will also open the gates to practical solutions in the field of quantum computing.
This strong coupling regime could be readily achieved and this combination in question had a large binding strength. Professor Menon’s research team included City College PhD students Tal Galfsy, Xiaoze Liu, and Zheng Sun as well as scientists from Yale University in the US, Ecole Polytechnic in Montreal at Canada, and National Tsing Hua University at Taiwan. This research was funded by the US Army Research Lab’s Army Research Office and National Science Foundation through the Materials Research Science and Engineering Centre namely Centre for Photonic and Multi-scale Nanomaterials.
This research was published in a journal entitled Nature Photonics.
About Exciton Polaritons
The first particles created out of light and matter in a simultaneous fashion was the exciton polariton which was discovered during the 1990s. Sandwiched between semiconducting materials in a quantum well, brief electron hole pairings cause excitation and quelling of electrons in a release of energy as a photon. Placed between well polished mirrors, the photon gets reflected back to create another exciton or electron hole pair which emits another photon and this process goes on.
As a result of this, there is cycling between light and matter leading to energy in a few trillionth of second alternating between states of light and matter so fast that it is difficult to tell which occurs when. This refers to the polariton which is half light and half matter. When the interaction rate exceeds energy dissipation from light and matter, what is known as a strong coupling regime occurs at room temperature. This is what Dr. Menon’s work has achieved through the formation of polaritons in two dimensional atomic crystals of molybdenum disulphide. After the darkness, there is light and much of this research could well pave the way for new technologies that can tap the best of both worlds.
