University of Wisconsin - Madison
We are fascinated by new possibilities in optics coming from emerging and poorly-understood materials. In this talk, I will describe the integration and engineering of materials with phase transitions and record optical anisotropy in optical technologies and devices. I will describe how the phase-transition of vanadium dioxide, a correlated electronic system, can be modified using defect engineering, and enable optical switches, limiters, and nonlinear isolators. I will also describe our efforts to use the hysteresis-free phase transition in samarium nickel oxide to control thermal radiation, in particular demonstrating a coating that thermally emits the same amount of light irrespective of its temperature (over a certain temperature range). I will also describe a class of anisotropic materials, quasi-1D perovskite nickelates, that has world-record optical birefringence in the mid infrared, and can be the basis of next-generation polarization optics.
