Design and Engineering of Optoelectronic Metamaterials

Introduction

One of the promises of the combination of quantum mechanics and nanotechnology is the ability to design materials with tailor-made physical properties. While there have been several successful examples, as in the case of metamaterials for photonic applications, where colour and refractive index can be tuned by a smart design of the material structure, the development of similar metamaterials for other applications has been lagging behind.

Objective

In this proposal, I aim to capitalize on the body of work done by my group to fabricate optoelectronic devices with colloidal semiconducting quantum dots and layered metal halide perovskites by proposing an innovative approach towards optoelectronic metamaterials.

Methodology

We will engineer metamaterials for optoelectronic applications in the visible and near-infrared spectral range using the following building blocks:

1. Superlattices quantum wells (QWs) based on layered metal halide perovskites
2. Pb chalcogenides quantum dots (QDs)

The metamaterials will be assembled from a solution phase using modified Langmuir-Blodgett-Schaefer techniques (both for the QWs and QDs).

Techniques

We will increase the monodispersity of the precursor clusters in solution using interaction with an ionic liquid. Ligands will be used in both QDs and QWs superlattices to control the charge carrier transport of the metamaterials, providing their full tuneability of properties that will allow us to revolutionize the optoelectronic field.

Quality Certification

The final certification of the quality of the DEOM’s metamaterials will be obtained with the fabrication of near- and short-wavelength infrared photodetectors and visible-light emitting diodes of superior performance levels.