Van der Waals Nanophotonics for Deeply Subwavelength Optics

Van der Waals materials are of great promise for photonics and optoelectronics. In this talk I will discuss use of bulk van der Waals materials for controlling visible and infrared radiation. I will show that strong light matter interaction within excitonic transition metal dichalcogenides, such as MoS2, allows deeply subwavelength light confinement and manipulation. I will demonstrate passive nanophotonic devices that can confine and guide light in structures that are more than 16 times smaller than the wavelength. I will further present a combined near and far field imaging and discuss device efficiency. I will then discuss use of hexagonal boron nitride for controlling mid-infrared radiation. Specifically, manifestations of strong light phonon coupling in hBN will be discussed and their use for creating deeply subwavelength resonators will be shown. I will then present first in a kind measurement of tunable hBN metasurface emitters which can cover over 2 micron band. Our studies suggest that smaller and more efficient devices may be created with the use of van der Waals materials.