Hybrid systems of metamaterials and quantum oscillators

Metamaterials are one of the most innovative research areas in modern photonics. The technological and scientific potential of metamaterials originates from the large electric and magnetic dipole moments of the plasmonic basis structures. Furthermore, the response of such artificial structures can be designed to define effective media with a specific functionality. As a major drawback, metamaterials suffer from significant intrinsic loss at infrared and optical frequencies. The goal of a joint project between the research groups of Prof. Fleischhauer and Jun.-Prof. Rahm is the theoretical and experimental investigation of hybrid systems composed of metamaterials and quantum systems. In this concept, quantum interference effects shall be exploited to compensate for losses in the material or to resonantly enhance nonlinear effects. The project combines theoretical aspects with technological research/development and experimental investigations. On the theoretical side, model systems of hybridly integrated quantum systems/metamaterials are conceived and theoretically analyzed. To direct the theoretical results into proof-of-concept experiments, hybrid systems are numerically examined in full-wave simulations and the developed structures are fabricated and experimentally characterized. There are two positions available, one in the group of Prof. Fleischhauer (Theory/Numerical Physics) and the other in the group of Jun.-Prof. Rahm (Experiment/Numerical Physics). The candidates are expected to strongly collaborate in order to support the synergy of expertise in quantum optics and metamaterials.

Principal Investigators:

Prof. Dr. Michael Fleischhauer (Department of Physics, TU Kaiserslautern)

Jun.-Prof. Dr. Marco Rahm (Department of Physics, TU Kaiserslautern)