Van Der Waals materials have emerged as a revolutionary platform for photonics, offering a unique combination of direct-bandgap semiconductor properties and unprecedented flexibility for heterostructure integration. These materials exhibit simultaneously strong optical responses and unusual physical properties that enable access to coherent light-matter interaction regimes previously considered inaccessible in traditional bulk materials.

In this talk, we will discuss a few examples, including the observation of collective Lamb shift1 and achievement of perfect absorption2 within a same monolayer, the development of unconventional types of strong-coupling systems with unique properties3–5, and an approach that utilizes some of the novel effects to enable a dynamic matter-light hybrid Chern insulator6,7. These advances open new pathways to next generation photonic devices and quantum technologies.

Presented by Hui Deng.

Hui Deng is a Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her research centers on the creation, control, and application of single- and many-body quantum states in matter-light coupled systems, with an overarching goal of developing robust quantum systems for future technology. She received her BS in Modern Applied Physics from Tsinghua University, followed by an MS in Electrical Engineering and a PhD in Applied Physics from Stanford University. She is a recipient of the NSF Career Awards, AFOSR Young Investigator Awards, and the Humboldt Foundation Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award. She is a fellow of APS and Optica.