Welcome to the Nanoscale and Quantum Photonics Research Group

Our research is focused on the nanoscale and quantum photonics and low-dimensional quantum materials, with particular interest in the fundamental physics related to the nanoscale cavity-mediated light-matter interaction in the quantum regime, including quantum plasmonics, molecular electronic plasmonics, nonlinear nanophotonics, exciton polariton physics and devices. These fundamental studies are relevant to many exciting applications in miniaturized photonic and optoelectronic devices, energy harvesting, conversion, storage and saving, advanced biochemical sensing and biomedical imaging. We have direct access to a large number of advanced optical measurement systems for single-particle absorption / scattering, reflection / transmission, fluorescence and Raman spectroscopies, with functionalities ranging from near- to far-field, linear to nonlinear, steady state to time-resolved and ultrafast regimes.

Selected publications

1. C. C. Jiang^#, L. Y. He^#, Q. D. Xuan, Y. Liao, J.-G. Dai, D. Y. Lei*, “Phase-change VO₂-based thermochromic smart windows”, Light: Science & Applications 13, 255 (2024).

2. P. F. Cheng^#, Y. D. An^#, A. K.-Y. Jen*, D. Y. Lei*, “New nanophotonics approaches for enhancing the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells”, Advanced Materials 36(17), 2309459 (2024).

3. W. L. Li, P. He, D. Y. Lei*, Y. L. Fan, Y. T. Du, B. Gao, Z. Q. Chu, L. Q. Li, K. P. Liu, C. X. An, W. Z. Yuan, Y. T. Yu*, “Super-resolution multicolor fluorescence microscopy enabled by an apochromatic super-oscillatory lens with extended depth-of-focus”, Nature Communications 14(1), 5107 (2023).

4. J. Y. Li^#, Y. Fu^#, J. K. Zhou, K. M. Yao, X. Ma, S. W. Gao, Z. K. Wang, J.-G. Dai, D. Y. Lei*, X. G. Yu*, "Ultra-thin, soft, radiative cooling interfaces for advanced thermal management in skin electronics", Science Advances 9(14), eadg1837 (2023).

5. H. L. You^#, S. Q. Li^#, Y. L. Fan, X. Y. Guo, Z. Z. Lin, R. Ding, X. Cheng, H. Zhang, T.-W. B. Lo, J. H. Hao, Y. Zhu, H.-Y. Tam, D. Y. Lei*, C.-H. Lam, H. T. Huang*, "Accelerated pyro-catalytic hydrogen production enabled by plasmonic local heating of Au on pyroelectric BaTiO₃ nanoparticles", Nature Communications 13, 6144 (2022) - Phys.Org

6. H. F. Wang^#, S. J. Ma^#, S. Zhang*, D. Y. Lei*, "Intrinsic superflat bands in general twisted bilayer systems", Light: Science & Applications 11, 159 (2022).

7. G.-C. Li, D. Y. Lei*, M. Qiu, W. Jin, S. Lan, A. V. Zayats*, "Light-induced symmetry breaking for enhancing second-harmonic generation from an ultrathin plasmonic nanocavity", Nature Communications 12, 4326 (2021).

8. Z. W. Peng^#, X. L. Chen^#, Y. L. Fan^#, D. J. Srolovitz, D. Y. Lei*, "Strain engineering of 2D semicondcutors and graphene: From strain-field theory to band-structure tuning and photonic applications", Light: Science & Applications 9, 190 (2020). - Selected as Outstanding Paper and Top Downloaded Paper in 2021.

9. S. Q. Li, D. Y. Lei*, W. Ren, X. Y. Guo, S. F. Wu, Y. Zhu, A. L. Rogach, M. Chhowalla, A. K.-Y. Jen, "Water-resistant perovskite nanodots enable robust two-photon lasing in aqueous environment", Nature Communications 11, 1192 (2020) - The Top 50 Most Read Nature Communications Articles in Physics in 2020.

10. Z. L. Cao^#, H. Gao^#, M. Qiu, W. Jin, S. Z. Deng, K.-Y. Wong, D. Y. Lei*, "Chirality transfer from sub-nanometer biochemical molecules to sub-micrometer plasmonic metastructures: Physiochemical mechanisms and biosensing opportunities", Advanced Materials 32(41), 1907151 (2020).