IQIM Postdoctoral and Graduate Student Seminar

Abstract: Tuning properties of quantum materials with light has a long history - from simple heating to driving selective excitations inside the materials. While many novel optical engineering mechanisms have been proposed, there has been a gap regarding the experimental realizations of light modulating material properties without being absorbed, i.e., the Floquet engineering strategy. In this seminar, I will discuss our recent experiments on using light to Floquet engineer van der Waals materials in a heating-free manner. We achieved reversible control of the nonlinear optical properties and the bandgap size of the antiferromagnetic insulator MnPS3 on a timescale of 100 femtoseconds. I will also discuss how we can combine this Floquet principle and the versatile material platforms in order to create new phases of matter out of equilibrium.

Attend by zoom at https://caltech.zoom.us/j/88407627311?pwd=RGx4MlpSUnBLbDJvdE4rS1FHbWZvUT09