2022-10-12
Attosecond clocking of Bloch electrons
Together with the group of Mackillo Kira (Michigan), we use multi-terahertz light fields to force electron-hole pairs in semiconductors onto closed recollision paths. Attosecond clocking of these trajectories reveals how many-body correlations like strong Coulomb interactions modify the charge carrier dynamics. This novel concept offers a completely new access to exotic phase transitions and quantum dynamics important for future electronic and quantum-information technologies.
The results have been published in Nature....
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We congratulate Joshua Mornhinweg on winning the first prize of the best student paper award of the 2022 International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz) in Delft with his talk titled nonlinear subcycle dynamics of ultrastrong light-matter interaction. The prize honours original contributions to the conference from outstanding student attendees....
Image (from left to right): Manuel Meierhofer, Martin Zizlsperger, Felix Schiegl, Rupert Huber (professor), Christian Meineke, Johannes Hayes, Marlene Liebich
We studied the ultrafast dynamics of intersubband polaritons in the mid-infrared together with the groups of Raffaele Colombelli (Paris), Christoph Lange (Dortmund) and Iacopo Carusotto (Trento). Stimulated scattering occurs between these polaritons for resonant excitation, which we observe directly within the polaritonic bandstructure. This scattering mechanism could enable Bose-Einstein-condensates of intersubband polaritons for novel quantum computers and on-chip mid-infrared light sources.
In collaboration with the group of Heiko Weber (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg) we investigated mid-infrared light-field-driven tunneling currents in a Schottky diode, consisting of epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide. Our study gives insights into the intrinsic speed limits of rectification currents in these devices and paves the way towards light-field-driven electronics with increased functionality, such as transistors and logic circuits.
