Dynamical Materials Control with Light

Speaker: Wanzheng Hu, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter

When: February 24, 2017 (Fri), 03:30PM to 04:30PM (add to my calendar)
Location: SCI 328

This event is part of the Biophysics/Condensed Matter Seminar Series.

Using ultra-short laser pulses to drive quantum materials out of equilibrium is an emergent technique for dynamical materials control. On the one hand, unfolding quantum phases in time offers new perspective in understanding fundamental physics. On the other hand, selectively driving low-energy excitations using femtosecond laser pulses can achieve novel quantum phases inaccessible at equilibrium. Combining dynamical light control with ultra-broadband transient optical spectroscopy, we are able to directly probe the dynamics of lattice vibrations and electronic excitations over the whole far-infrared region, revealing the physics behind the transient quantum phases. In this talk, I will present two examples: 1) transient superconductivity in multi-layer cuprate superconductors, and 2) phonon-driven insulator-to-metal transition in nickelate heterostructures.