PhD Proposal: Maliq Adetunji

ADVISOR: Dr. Matthew Pelton

TITLE: Plasmon-Mediated Collective Light-Matter Interactions in Deterministic 2D Semiconductor Quantum Emitters

ABSTRACT: Strain-localized quantum emitters are single-photon sources that can be formed deterministically by sharply deforming atomically thin van der Waals (vdW) semiconductors. The platform is most mature in monolayer and bilayer WSe₂, a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD), where emitters can be generated and positioned with nanoscale control. However, as a solid-state two-dimensional emitter platform, the collective coupling of multiple emitters has yet to be demonstrated, largely due to spectral broadening, which prevents emitters from operating at matched frequencies, and the absence of a shared optical mode through which the emitters can interact. This project therefore proposes a phased program that will supply both missing ingredients: spectral control, through engineering of the emitters’ electrostatic and vdW environments, and a shared optical mode, through plasmonic lattice engineering. By fabricating and optically interrogating the resulting devices, this project seeks to move 2D emitters from isolated single-photon sources toward collectively interacting emitters, thereby contributing to the broader goal of realizing scalable, engineered light–matter quantum systems.