Engineering the Quantum States in Solids Utilizing Light
A POSTECH research team led by Professor Gil-Ho Lee and Gil Young Cho (Department of Physics). Has created a platform that can control the properties of solid materials with light and measure them.
Distinguished for establishing a platform to manage and measure the properties of materials in numerous ways with light. The discoveries from the study were released in the top international scholastic journal Nature on March 15, 2022 (GMT).
The electrical properties of a material are established by the movement of electrons in the material. Material is defined as metal if electrons can move liberally; otherwise, it is an insulator. In order to alter the electric properties of these solids. Using heat or pressure or including impurities have been usually used. This is since the change in the position of the atoms in the solid changes the movement of electrons accordingly.
On the other hand, the Floquet state. In which the original quantum state is replicated when light is irradiated on matters, has actually been proposed. By embracing such a concept, quantum states of matter can be easily manipulated with light, Which can be effectively used in quantum systems.
Light intensity
In previous experiments, the light intensity for understanding the Floquet state in solids was huge because of the high frequency of light. Floquet states last only for a very brief time of 250 femtoseconds (1 femtosecond is one-trillionth of a second). As a result of their transient nature, quantitative studies of their characteristics have actually been limited.
POSTECH study group succeeded in the experimental realization of the constant Floquet state in a graphene Josephson junction (GJJ) by irradiating continuous microwaves on it. The intensity of the light has actually been lowered to one trillionth the value of previous experiments. Substantially decreasing the heat generation and allowing continuously long-lasting Floquet states.
The research study team also created an unique superconducting tunneling spectroscopy to measure the Floquet states with high energy resolution. This is necessary to quantitatively verify the Floquet state’s characteristics that vary depending upon the intensity, frequency, and polarization of light put on the device.
This research is important in that we have created a platform that can study the Floquet state thoroughly, explained professors Gil-Ho Lee and Gil Young Cho that led the study. They added, “We intend to examine better the correlation between properties of light, such as polarization, and the Floquet states.
This research was conducted with the support from the Samsung Science and Technology Foundation, National Research Foundation of Korea, Institute for Basic Science, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and Elemental Strategy Initiative performed by the MEXT.
Read the original article on Science Daily.
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