Research Expertise and Interest

nanoscience, nano-optics, single molecule spectroscopy, quantum optics, functional organic nanostructures, nano-optoelectronics, photonics, materials chemistry

Research Description

Research in the Utzat group is concerned with understanding and harnessing the light-matter interaction at the nanoscale. They seek to exploit expertise in single-molecule spectroscopy, inorganic materials synthesis, and nanofabrication to gain exquisite control over photonic, electronic, spin, and vibrational degrees of freedom and their couplings. Currently, they follow two interconnected research schemes:

Functional Inorganic Nanostructures and Emerging Semiconductor Materials They seek to synthesize emerging semiconductor materials with tailored optical properties down to the level of individual excitations. Understanding materials structure across the molecular, nano-, and mesoscale and how it dictates optical properties forms the foundation of our efforts. Ultimately, they uncover basic science while providing new materials for applications in optoelectronics, including single-photon sources, light-emitting diodes, and nanoscale lasers.

Nano-optics, Nanophotonics, and Single Molecule Spectroscopy They develop new tools in microscopy to study nanoscale dynamics. A major scientific goal is understanding how the atomic-level structure and local environment affect the excited state dynamics of solid-state single-photon emitters. To this end, they seek to integrate optical single-molecule spectroscopy and high-resolution electron microscopy. Through the concurrent resolution of the optical signatures and atomic-precision structure of single emitters, they inform the rational design of materials for optical quantum technologies. An emerging thrust of the group builds optical metrology to resolve the multi-timescale conformational dynamics of single proteins.