The research of the Quantum Nano-Optics Lab. is dedicated to the study of processes like the excitation and manipulation of polaritons – hybrid light matter excitations – in Van der Waals materials such as Graphene or hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). Recently, the study has been extended to polar Van der Waals materials showing strongly anisotropic properties like a-MoO₃, in which near-field images taken by the group using scattering-type Scanning Near Field Optical Microscopy (s-SNOM) has revealed for the first time the anisotropic propagation of phonon polaritons in the plane (hyperbolic and elliptical propagation), which also show unprecedented low losses.

Another research line of the group is focussed on the design, simulation and optical characterization of semiconductor/piezoelectric hybrid actuators used to modify, via elastic strain engineering, the physical properties of nanomaterials in a reversible manner. This strategy includes tailoring of both the propagation of phonon-polaritons and the emission properties of single photon sources in Van der Waals materials.