Research

We develop photonic cavities and arrays of cavities, known as metasurfaces, that operate in the THz frequency range. The cavities function based on a surface plasmonic mechanism, which allows for the confinement of THz photons at deep-subwavelength scales. This enables the study of systems on spatial scales well below those imposed by the diffraction limit and facilitates the creation of light-matter hybrids in the ultrastrong coupling regime of light-matter interaction. 

Furthermore, thanks to the plasmonic mechanism, our THz cavities and metasurfaces are highly tunable with external parameters such as temperature, magnetic fields, and electric fields. This tunability opens new prospects for manipulating the THz light itself or for crafting exotic interactions between light and matter within the cavities. 

In quantum materials, electrons are strongly interacting together and have a tendency to organize themselves at low temperature, giving rise to exotic quantum orders with remakable properties, such as high temperature superconductivity and magnetism, for instance. Understanding the origin and the nature of these quantum orders, in particular when they coexist and are intertwinned together, is one of the major challenges of consended matter research nowadays. In the TeraX-lab, we not only try to understand the nature of these collective quantum phenomena, but we also seek to manipulate them coherently (i.e. without destroying these fragile orders) with light.

Studying such collective phenomena in quantum materials allows to explore fundamental questions in condensed matter physics (out of equilibrium collective quantum phenomena, light induced phase transitions, cooperative effects in quantum systems etc.) and may potentially lead to future technological breakthroughs (ultrafast magnetic information storage, electronic devices with enhanced functionnalities and exotic properties « on demand » etc.)