Perspectives on weak interactions in complex materials at different length scales

Nanocomposite materials consist of nanometer-sized quantum objects such as atoms, molecules, voids or nanoparticles embedded in a host material. These quantum objects can be exploited as a superstructure, which can be designed to create material properties targeted for specific applications.

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 25, 2671.

Length scale overview due to the different theoretical methods (top) (fading out to white indicates the border of the method): classical force field molecular dynamics (MD), quantum chemistry (QC) and density functional theory (DFT), and macroscopic quantum electrodynamics (mQED); and experimental methods (bottom) (bounds are not fixed and overlap): electromagnetic (em) spectroscopy with γ-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet-visible, infrared, and Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy, microscopy methods: optical and X-ray microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning probe microscopy (SPM); matter-wave (mw) spectroscopy beyond electrons: with the helium and helium ion microscopes (the solid line denotes the current resolution limit and the dashed line denotes the theoretical limit).

Image licensed under CC-BY 3.0.

For electromagnetism, such targeted properties include field enhancements around the bandgap of a semiconductor used for solar cells, directional decay in topological insulators, high kinetic inductance in superconducting circuits, and many more. Despite very different application areas, all of these properties are united by the common aim of exploiting collective interaction effects between quantum objects.

The literature on the topic spreads over very many different disciplines and scientific communities.

In this review, we present a cross-disciplinary overview of different approaches for the creation, analysis and theoretical description of nanocomposites with applications related to electromagnetic properties.

Read the article here.

Fiedler, J., Berland, K., Borchert, J., Corkery, R., Eisfeld, A., Gelbwaser-Klimovsky, G., Greve, M., Holst, B., Jacobs, K., Kruger, M., Parsons, D., Persson, C., Presselt, M., Reisinger, T., Scheel, S., Stienkemeier, F., Tømterud, M., Walter, M., Weitz, R. T., & Zalieckas, J. (2023). Perspectives on weak interactions in complex materials at different length scales. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 25, 2671. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2CP03349F.

By Clas Persson

Published Mar. 8, 2023 10:58 AM - Last modified Mar. 20, 2023 12:34 PM