KIM GROUP

Laboratory of Infrared Optics & Polarimetry

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Zach and Satya's paper on "Thermally tunable mid-infrared nanocavity resonance of coupled surface plasmon-phonon polaritons" was published in Optics Express!

This paper, co-authored by Los Alamos National Lab, Univ. of Houston, and U.S. Naval Research Lab, demonstrates thermally tunable nanocavity resonance in the mid-infrared spectral region (near 11 µm). The nanocavity consists of gold, VO2, and SiC, with VO2 serving as the active layer, whose refractive index varies with temperature. Unlike traditional structures, we do not physically shape the cavity boundary. Instead, we intentionally eliminate one of the coupled modes using a thin metallic structure, which enables us to adopt a simpler design and fabrication process while avoiding the need for etching dielectrics - an entirely novel approach. Notably, to mitigate the high loss associated with VO2 in its metallic phase, we focus on a temperature range before the phase transition, where the increase in temperature introduces only a small imaginary part to the refractive index. For this device, we achieve a tuning figure of merit of 0.4, which is comparable to the current standard in photonic modulator applications. This novel method not only extends VO2's operational capacity to a longer infrared spectral range, including the far infrared, but also pushes the boundaries of current understanding in this field.

Read the article at Optics Express

Imtiaz and Satya's paper on "Temperature-dependent optical constants of vanadium dioxide thin films deposited on polar dielectrics" was published in Optical Materials!

This paper, co-authored by Los Alamos National Lab and U.S. Naval Research Lab, introduces a new non-ellipsometric technique for determining the complex refractive index of thin films deposited on polar dielectrics. The technique utilizes the reflectance spectra obtained under normal incident illumination, a configuration commonly used in optical experiments. This work offers an alternative approach for obtaining the complex optical indices of thin films when an infrared ellipsometer is not an option. Given its wide use as a phase transition material in photonic applications when deposited on polar dielectrics, we selected vanadium dioxide as an example for this method. Using a combination of Kramers-Kronig analysis and the thin film Fresnel equation, we determined the changes in the optical constants of the vanadium dioxide films across the phase transition.

Read the article at Optical Materials

Entangling and Untangling the Secrets of Quantum Anomalies to Magnetism

The new NSF award (abstract link here) is providing support for Dr. Kim's experimental research aimed at gaining a fundamental understanding of quantum anomalies, and their relationship with topology and the magnetic environment surrounding Weyl fermions, by utilizing Dr. Kim's advanced magneto-optical setup developed at Texas Tech University. The proposed time-resolved magneto-optical measurement using nonlinear chiral pumping and broadband infrared Hall probing enables the simultaneous examination of non-equilibrium chiral states, local magnetic texture dynamics, and intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivities. This award could provide new insights into controlling topological functionalities in Weyl fermions through optical, electrical, and magnetic means, which could be useful for understanding quantum anomalies of Weyl fermions and potential applications as a topological qubit.

Zach and Dr. Kim developed a broadband polarimetric infrared microscope to probe chiral electrons in quantum materials.

The new polarimetric microscope surpasses current technology, which is limited to using only laser light within the visible and near-infrared spectrum. The new microscope employs the double modulation technique; a slow spectral kHz modulation from FTIR and a fast polarimetric 50 kHz modulation from PEM. This technique is capable of simultaneously measuring both polarization rotation (which results from circular birefringence) and ellipticity (which results from circular dichroism) in real-time across a wide range of wavelengths from visible to deep mid-infrared light (25,000 cm-1 – 600 cm-1), with a sample size as small as 100 microns!

Satya's paper on "Coupled surface plasmon-phonon polariton nanocavity arrays for enhanced mid-infrared absorption" was published in Nanophotonics!

This project collaborating with Univ. of Houston, Los Alamos National Lab., and UT Austin proposes a new photonics platform for long-wave infrared light. The proposed metal/polar dielectric hybrid structure provides a coupling for phonons and photons through surface charge oscillations. This enables the design of various multifunctional phonon-polaritonic devices that respond to light, heat, and external voltage through a top metallic structure. Our hybrid structure can maximize the polar dielectric characteristics between epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) and epsilon-near-pole (ENP).

Read the article at Nanophotonics

GROUP NEWS

Jul. 22, 2025 - Zach & Satya's paper on "Thermally tunable mid-infrared nanocavity resonance of coupled surface plasmon-phonon polaritons" is published in Optics Express! Congratulations on Zach, Satya, Imtiaz, and Yejin! More information is here.

Jul. 15, 2025 - The paper co-authored on "Coexistence of three-dimensional and quasi-two-dimensional Fermi surfaces driven by orbital selective Kondo scattering in UTe2" is published in Phys. Rev. B! More information is here.

Jun. 10, 2025 - Mansi and Imtiaz fabricated our 1st surface phonon polaritonic two-dimensional nanocavity patterns using the photolithography technique. Congratulations! More information is here.

Jun. 9, 2025 - Dr. Kim started his summer research at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., until mid-August.

May 29, 2025 - Dr. Kim gave invited talks at SNU (5/27), GIST (5/28), and KRISS (5/29) in South Korea.

May 15, 2025 - Spring 2025 Graduate School Commencement Ceremony. Congratulations, Dr. Brown! More information is here.

May 12, 2025 - Russell gave a Ph.D. Proposal presentation successfully and advanced to Ph.D. candidacy. Congratulations!

Apr. 30, 2025 - Imtiaz Ahmad successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis! Congratulations, Dr. Ahmad! His thesis topic is "Coupled Surface Plasmon-Phonon Polaritonic Metasurfaces for an Active Control of Long-Wave Infrared Light." Please find more information here.

Apr. 15, 2025 - Dr. Kim gave a T&P talk in the Department. Please find more information here.

Apr. 11, 2025 - Mansi, Mudasir, and Zach received awards at the Annual Department Banquet. Zach received the Outstanding PhD Student Award! Mansi and Mudasir received the Bucy Graduate Scholarship in Applied Physics. Congratulations, all! Please find more information here.

Mar. 26, 2025 - Zachary Brown successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis! Congratulations, Dr. Brown! His thesis topic is "Infrared Quantum Magneto-Optical Transport in Magnetic Weyl Semimetals RAlGe (R = La, Ce, Pr)." Please find more information here.

Mar. 16-21, 2025 - All group members gave a presentation at the APS Global Physics Summit 2025 in Anaheim. Please find more information here.

Feb. 26, 2025 - Dr. Kim won the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Summer Faculty Fellowship at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. for the third consecutive summer!

Feb. 17, 2025 - Dr. Kim was invited to give a talk at the Condensed Matter / Biophysics Seminars at the University of Florida. More information is here.

Jan. 31, 2025 - Dr. Kim presents the interferometer demo at the Ramirez Elementary School STEM NIGHT outreach event. More information is here.

Jan. 27, 2025 - Our USER proposal for the 3rd renewal to the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) at DOE Sandia National Lab was approved. This program has supported our access to the facilities at the CINT since 2020. It has now been extended until 2026. Thank DOE for the continuous support of our research!

Jan. 24, 2025 - The CMP group visits the physics department at Angelo State University (ASU). Dr. Kim introduces his condensed matter research to the physics students at ASU. More information is here.

Dec. 6, 2024 - The paper co-authored on "In-plane beam focusing via integrated photonic gradient-index subwavelength grating metalens" is published in Optics Express! More information is here.

Nov. 7, 2024 - We presented our interferometer demo at the FAMILY STEM NIGHT outreach event at the TTU Student Union Ballroom. Thank you for your help! Please find more information here.

Oct. 25, 2024 - Our group submitted 7 abstracts to the APS Global Physics Summit 2025 at Anaheim, California. We did it again! Thank you all for your hard work!

Oct. 21, 2024 - Dr. Kim gave a colloquium talk at the TTU ECE Department.

Oct. 18, 2024 - Ruben attended the Texas Section APS meeting at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and gave a poster presentation. Ruben received a travel award from Texas Section APS. Congratulations! Please find more information here.

Oct. 11, 2024 - Mansi and Russell attended the 2024 Departmental Poster Competition. Mansi won the 3rd place! Congratulations! Please find more information here.

Sep. 12, 2024 - Our patent application (inventors: Dr. Kim, Zach, and Satya) is published and searchable online under PCT. Please find more information here.

[read more group news]

Jul. 18, 2024 - Dr. Kim was selected to receive a grant from the Helen Jones Foundation in support of "Bridging the Gap: Applied Science in K-12 Astronomy Education and Exhibition."

Jul. 13, 2024 - Imtiaz & Satya's paper on "Temperature-dependent optical constants of vanadium dioxide thin films deposited on polar dielectrics" is published in Optical Materials! Congratulations on Imtiaz, Satya, Zach and Yejin! Please find more information here.

Jul. 3, 2024 - Dr. Kim was invited to the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi MD, and gave a presentation on surface phonon polaritonic metasurfaces.

Jun. 17, 2024 - Zach and Dr. Kim attended the Annual TechConnect World Innovation Conference & EXPO in Washington, D.C., and gave a pitch (2024 Innovation Awardees) & poster presentation. Please find more information here.

Jun. 12, 2024 - The paper co-authored on "Dual nature of magnetism driven by momentum dependent f-d Kondo hybridization" is published in Communications Physics! More information is here.

Jun. 3, 2024 - Dr. Kim started his summer research at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in D.C. until early August.

Apr. 12, 2024 - Imtiaz, Zach, and Mansi received awards at the Annual Department Banquet. Imtiaz and Mansi received the Bucy Graduate Scholarship in Applied Physics. Additionally, Imtiaz received the Abdul Hakeem Khan Lodhi Endowed Graduate Fellowship, and Zach received the Peter Seibt Memorial Scholarship! Congratulations, all! Please find more information here.

Mar. 26, 2024 - Zach and Dr. Kim were selected as Innovation Awardees in TechConnect 2024. We are one of 86 teams. Please find more information here. Zach and Dr. Kim will give a pitch about "Long-Wave Infrared Phase Modulator and Device for Producing Polarization Ellipticity Standards" at the 2024 TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo at Washington, D.C.

Mar. 6, 2024 - Imtiaz was awarded a very competitive Texas Tech Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship through the Graduate School. This award supports Research Assistantship during the 2024 - 2025 academic year. Congratulations, Imtiaz!

Mar. 3-8, 2024 - All group members gave a presentation at APS March Meeting 2024 at Minneapolis. Please find more information here.

Feb. 29, 2024 - Our undergraduate Ruben Martinez won the College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Experience Program Award for a proposal entitled "Magneto-Optical Kerr Microscopy of Two-Dimensional Quantum Magnets." Congratulations on Ruben!

Feb. 26, 2024 - Dr. Kim won the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Summer Faculty Fellowship at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. for the second consecutive summer!

Feb. 23, 2024 - Imtiaz was awarded a Graduate Student Research Support Award, second time in a row! This funding is provided with support from the CH Foundation and the Texas Tech University Graduate School. Congratulations!

Jan. 17, 2024 - Imtiaz received the 2024 DCMP (Division of Condensed Matter Physics) Graduate Student Travel Award from the American Physical Society (APS). Imtiaz will attend the Award Ceremony with a reception during the APS March Meeting 2024. Congratulations!

Nov. 3, 2023 - Yejin gave a Ph.D. Proposal presentation successfully and advanced to Ph.D. candidacy. Congratulations!

Oct. 20, 2023 - Our group submitted 7 abstracts to the APS March Meeting 2024 at Minneapolis. Thank you all for your hard work!

Oct. 11, 2023 - Dr. Kim has been named the 2023 Emerging Inventor of the Year for Texas Tech University. The Annual Inventor Celebration event is sponsored by the Office of Research Commercialization in partnership with the National Academy of Inventors and Texas Tech University System. Dr. Kim will be honored at the Inventor Celebration on Oct. 19th. Please find more information here. The Inventor Celebration 2023 pictures are here. All about the invention and its journey can be found in the College of Arts and Sciences news here.

Oct. 6, 2023 - Imtiaz, Zach, and Yejin attended the 2023 Departmental Poster Competition. Imtiaz won the 3rd place! Congratulations! Please find more information here.

Oct. 6, 2023 - Dr. Kim serves as a guest editor on a special issue of "Recent Development of Quantum Characterization Techniques for Advanced Materials" in Materials, MDPI journal. Please find more information here.

Jul. 28, 2023 - Texas Tech Today featured our group! Please find more information here.

Jul. 27, 2023 - Dr. Kim participated in the DoD HBCU/MI Opportunities Workshop in Arlington, Virginia.

Jun. 28, 2023 - We received a new grant from NSF ($235K) for the proposal entitled "LEAPS-MPS: Unveiling the Interplay of Chiral Transport, Magnetism, and Topology in Weyl Magnets: A Magneto-Optical Investigation." We thank the NSF for supporting our research! Please find more information here.

Jun. 27, 2023 - Our USER proposal 2nd renewal to the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) at DOE Sandia National Lab was approved. This program has supported our access to the facilities at the CINT since 2020. Thank DOE for the continuous support of our research!

Jun. 5, 2023 - Dr. Kim participated in the 2023 NSF MPS Workshop for New Investigators in Alexandria, Virginia. Please find more information here.

May 30, 2023 - Dr. Kim, Zach, and Sabrina started their summer research at U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in D.C. until early August.

May 15, 2023 - Zach gave a Ph.D. Proposal presentation successfully and advanced to Ph.D. candidacy. Congratulations!

May 11, 2023 - Imtiaz gave a Ph.D. Proposal presentation successfully and advanced to Ph.D. candidacy. Congratulations!

Apr. 28, 2023 - Imtiaz and Zach received awards at the Annual Department Banquet. Both received Bucy Graduate Scholarship in Applied Physics. Additionally, Imtiaz received Abdul Hakeem Khan Lodhi Endowed Graduate Fellowship, and Zach received Outstanding Student Innovator! Congratulations, all! Please find more information here.

Apr. 20, 2023 - Dr. Kim was invited to give a talk at the Pioneer Session on Phonon Spin Transport in the Korean Physical Society Spring Meeting at Deajeon, South Korea. Please find more information here.

Mar. 14, 2023 - Imtiaz Ahmad was selected to receive a Summer Thesis/Dissertation Research Award! Congratulations!

Mar. 5-10, 2023 - All group members gave a presentation at APS March Meeting 2023 at Las Vegas. Please find more information here.

Feb. 25, 2023 - Dr. Kim won the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Summer Faculty Fellowship!

Feb. 22, 2023 - Imtiaz Ahmad was awarded a Graduate Student Research Support Award! Congratulations!

Feb. 2, 2023 - Team Infrared Raiders (Dr. Kim & Zach Brown) was selected as an awardee of the NSF Regional I-Corps Program.

Jan. 30, 2023 - Dr. Kim was highlighted in the "Research Commercialization at Texas Tech", concerning his quantum research. More information is here.

Jan. 23, 2023 - Please join us in congratulating Zach Brown and our undergraduate Sabrina DeBreau, for winning the 2023 Office of Naval Research (ONR) NREIP Award. More information is here.

Jan. 11, 2023 - The paper co-authored on "Effects of silicon dioxide as the polar dielectric on the infrared absorption spectrum of the metal-insulator-metal metasurface" is published in Materials Research Express! Congratulations on Imtiaz and Satya! More information is here.

Dec. 16, 2022 - Fall 2022 Graduate School Commencement Ceremony. Congratulations, Dr. Kachiraju! More information is here.

Oct. 18, 2022 - Our undergraduate Mauricio Cerda won A&S Undergraduate Research Experience Program Funding opportunity about a proposal entitled "Understand and control quantum decoherence of an ensemble of quantum emitters." Congratulations on Mauricio!

Sep. 12, 2022 - Satya's paper on "Coupled surface plasmon-phonon polariton nanocavity arrays for enhanced mid-infrared absorption" is published in Nanophotonics! Congratulations on Satya, Imtiaz, and Hira! More information is here.

Jun. 24, 2022 - Satya Kachiraju successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis! Congratulations, Dr. Kachiraju! Satya is now the first Ph.D. in our group. His thesis topic is "Silicon Carbide Phonon Polaritonic Metasurfaces for an Active Control of Mid-infrared Light." More information is here.

Jun. 21, 2022 - Jacob Slocum successfully defended his M.S. thesis! His thesis topic is "One-Dimensional Topological Nanostructures Utilizing Surface Phonon Polaritons on Silicon Carbide." Congratulations! More information is here.

Mar. 14-18, 2022 - All group members gave a presentation at APS March Meeting 2022 at Chicago. Please find more information here.

Oct. 27, 2021 - Our group submitted 7 presentation abstracts to APS March Meeting 2022 at Chicago. Thank you all for your hard work!

Oct. 8, 2021 - Satya Kachiraju and Zachary Brown attended 2021 Departmental Poster Competition.

Apr. 8, 2021 - Satya Kachiraju made his first trip to Sandia National Laboratory for nanofabrication under DOE contract.

Mar. 12, 2021 - Satya Kachiraju won 2nd place in the Science category at the 20th Annual Graduate Virtual Research Poster Competition at TTU. Congratulations!

Feb. 23, 2021 - Satya Kachiraju won Graduate Student Research Support Award by TTU Graduate School. Congratulations!

Feb. 9, 2021 - Jacob Slocum won 2021 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP) award! He will receive stipend for his summer research participation in U.S. Naval Research Lab (NRL) at D.C. Congratulations!

Nov. 6, 2020 - Dr. Hira Farooq, Zachary Brown, Imtiaz Ahmad, Yejin Kwon, and Bryan Valdes attended 2020 Departmental Poster Competition. Imtiaz Ahmad won 1st place in the Competition! Congratulations!

Sep. 01, 2019 - Prof. Kim joined the Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas Tech University.

News - the previous institution, Univ. of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Feb. 7, 2018 – Prof. Kim received 2018 Outstanding Young Researcher Award from AKPA.org for his study of modern materials (low dimensional, topological, and correlated system) with terahertz and infrared lasers.

About Us: The Kim IR Lab at Condensed Matter Physics Group, Physics & Astronomy, Texas Tech University utilizes various infrared spectroscopy and polarimetry techniques to investigate quantum materials and novel nanostructures. Our main research focuses on studying mid-/far infrared magneto-transport in quantum materials of fundamental interest and developing novel surface phonon polaritonic nano-device for infrared applications.

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