CAREER: Tailoring Light-Matter Interactions in Perovskite-Based Molecular Metamaterials for Quantum-Informed Photonic Technologies.

About This Grant

Nontechnical Description Remarkable advances in communications, computing, and sensing have been achieved by precise control of interactions between light and matter through photonic metamaterials. These are engineered optical materials that manipulate light through nanoscale structures. However, these materials are reaching their fundamental limits. Future technologies will need access to the molecular and quantum interactions to control optical behavior. This CAREER project establishes a fundamentally different approach. The PI will create a new class of photonic metamaterials in which optical behavior is determined by molecular arrangements and underlying quantum interactions. The research takes advantage of the properties of layered halide perovskites. These materials are composed of atomically thin layers and have tunable electronic and optical properties. These hybrid materials will be used as a platform for embedding tailored molecular building blocks that intrinsically and directly shape optical responses. The project advances fundamental materials research while opening pathways for emerging quantum and sensing technologies. The project integrates research with education to embed materials and photonics concepts in the curriculum. Students engage in concept-linked coursework to pair content-based subject matter with skills development and enhance learning. Thereby, this project strengthens pathways from fundamental discoveries to STEM careers in materials science and photonics. Technical Description Recent breakthroughs in nanophotonics and metamaterials have enabled powerful control of light-matter interactions. However, existing approaches remain fundamentally limited by structural elements defined at the nanoscale through lithography or nanoparticle assemblies. These constraints restrict access to deeper length scales where quantum wavefunctions governed by chemical identity, spatial confinement, and intermolecular interactions can overlap and directly reshape optical properties. The scientific problem addressed in this project is how to advance metamaterials design principles into the sub-nanometer regime to understand, encode, and tailor light-matter interactions at the molecular level. The overarching goal is to establish molecular metamaterials whose optical parameters are intrinsically defined by molecular framework and quantum interactions rather than by traditional nanopatterning. The research uses layered halide perovskites as a model platform, leveraging their sub-nanometer interlayer gaps and molecular intercalation versatility to construct structured molecular meta-layers. The project tests the hypothesis that molecular motifs embedded within these gaps can be systematically encoded to transform fundamental optical parameters beyond those achievable in conventional perovskites and nanostructured metamaterials. The research scope is organized into three integrated thrusts: establishing quantum-informed molecular meta-layers through controlled molecular intercalation; tuning optical permittivity and permeability via molecular building blocks that modulate dielectric and quantum confinement; and elucidating intermolecular symmetry-driven optical anisotropy and spin-selective effects using symmetry-controlled molecular motifs. The approach integrates molecular synthesis, structural and spectroscopic characterization, and optical modeling to connect molecular-scale interactions with emergent optical behavior. These efforts establish molecular-level meta-photonic design rules, laying the foundation for next generation of molecular tailored, quantum-informed photonic technologies. As part of this project, an open-access, curated database of optical constants for layered halide perovskites will be developed to support data-driven materials design and reuse by the broader community. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.