Physics Colloquium: Ultrafast Spectroscopy for Clarity in Quantum Materials

Physics Colloquium
Ultrafast Spectroscopy for Clarity in Quantum Materials

Dr. Veronica Policht
NRC Research Associate
US Naval Research Laboratory

Event Details:
The emerging field of quantum materials is broadly defined to include systems where different material degrees of freedom, including excitons (bound electron-hole pairs), vibrational modes, as well as spin, strongly interact with one another. These interactions lead to exciting physical phenomena, including coherent couplings, light-induced phase transitions, light-driven band engineering, and the formation of new hybrid quasi particles. A major impediment in understanding the interactions at the heart of quantum materials is their ultrafast (1x10-15 – 1x10-12 s) timescales, further complicated by overlapping signatures and nonlinearities. Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy (2DES) is an excellent tool for unraveling complex and fast processes due to simultaneously high spectral and temporal resolution. The utility of 2DES in achieving clarity in quantum materials is discussed in the context of exciting optoelectronics systems, photosynthetic bacterial reaction centers and two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides, and its ability to resolve electronic structure, reveal signatures of coherent couplings, and even inform on optically-dark states.

Bio:
I am primarily interested in the development and application of ultrafast and nonlinear spectroscopy techniques to study electronic structure and dynamics in promising materials for quantum information science and efficient optoelectronic applications. I received a B.S. in Biophysics from Loyola University in Chicago before pursuing my Ph.D in Applied Physics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI with Jennifer Ogilvie, where I studied photosynthetic proteins. I was previously a Postdoc with Giulio Cerullo and Stefano Dal Conte at Politecnico di Milano in Milan, Italy where I studied low-dimensional heterostructures. I am currently an NRC Research Associate residing at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC working with Paul Cunningham in the Electronics Science and Technology Division on exciton polariton dynamics in low-dimensional semiconductors.

Intended Audience:
All are Welcome!

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