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Project

Coherent Control of Quantum Materials

The goal of the project is to investigate strategies to achieve the coherent optical control of the macroscopic properties of technologically relevant quantum materials. We will develop an ultrafast experiment, based on the combination of a suitable number of phase coherent ultrashort optical pulses, to selectively excite solids. Since the quantum-coherent nature of electronic excitations in materials is usually lost on extremely fast timescales (few femtoseconds), we will first set up a non-collinear optical parametric amplifier in order to synthesize light pulses as short as 10 femtoseconds. Then, we will investigate the electronic decoherence dynamics in various correlated materials, such as LaVO3 and V2O3, which represent paradigmatic examples of correlation-driven Mott insulators. We aim at addressing the possibility of enhancing the decoherence time by tuning the temperature, strain, excitation protocols and chemistry of the systems. We will also investigate the possibility of coherently manipulate the photoinduced insulator-to-metal transition in V2O3 and, possibly, to coherently control phase transition in other systems (e.g. superconductivity in copper oxides).

Date:28 Jun 2021 →  Today
Keywords:Ultrafast optics, Quantum materials, Coherent control
Disciplines:Nonlinear optics and spectroscopy, Optical properties and interactions with radiation
Project type:PhD project