A single-photon emitter at mid-infrared frequencies

Mid-infrared light sources are routinely used to analyze molecules in our food or pollutants in the atmosphere. However, these light sources are not compact and many work at low temperatures, thus limiting their use on a large scale. In this project, we will explore the possibility to generate infrared light at room temperature in a new fashion. To do this we will use materials that are one atom thick such as graphene. The one-atom thick nature of these materials will make these light sources ultra-compact so that they potentially can be integrated into devices such as mobile phones. Furthermore, contrary to materials used in our daily life like silicon, these new materials can be stacked on top of each other to design structures featuring optical properties that did not exist before. It is this new design knob that we intend to use to generate infrared light. If successful, this project could enable large-scale use of mid-infrared light technologies in our daily life.