About
Prof Simone De Liberato is Professor of Quantum Nanophotonics and Royal Society University Fellow at the School of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Southampton. Before becoming Faculty in Southampton in 2012, he was there as Marie Curie Fellow and previously at the University of Tokyo as Postdoctoral Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
His research interest is on light-matter interaction in extreme regimes, and how the novel physics observed in such a regime can find applications in classical and quantum technologies. In Southampton he leads the Quantum Theory and Technology group, investigating solid-state cavity quantum electrodynamics for both fundamental and technological applications.
Prof Simone De Liberato is also an entrepreneur and business angel, having created and funded multiple successful technological startups. He is presently the Chief Technology Officer of Sensorium Technological Laboratories, a Tennessee-based startup developing and commercialising novel technologies for mid-infrared classical and quantum sensing.
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- Ultrastrong cavity quantum electrodynamics
- Mid-infrared nanophotonics
- Foundations of quantum mechanics
Current research
Prof Simone De Liberato investigates novel phenomena due to the ultrastrong coupling between light and matter which can be achieved in nanoscopic solid-state devices. He has shown how the extreme interaction with the electromagnetic field, ensnared by properly engineered nanoantennas, can lead to modifications of the electronic or vibrational properties of materials. He uses single photons to tune material properties, creating novel quantum materials woven together by the quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field.
With his collaborators he predicted the existence and then experimentally observed Landau polaritons, quasi-particles in semiconducting nanodevices, which held the world record for the strongest interaction strength between light and matter, and photon-bound excitons, artificial atoms composed by two negative charges tied together by a photon.
Prof Simone De Liberato also investigates the technological impact of strong-coupling between light and matter in photonic devices. He discovered multiple novel phenomena exhibited by polar materials at nanometric length-scales relevant for mid-infrared optoelectronic devices.
Research projects
Active projects
Completed projects
Publications
Teaching
Prof Simone De Liberato teaches the first part of the Module PHYS6012, Coherent Light, Coherent Matter. In this course he gives an introduction to quantum optics and quantum technologies, touching at arguments including optical coherence, quantum entanglement, and some of the most important quantum algorigthms.
Biography
Prizes
- Philip Leverhulme Prize (2018)
- University Research Fellowship (2013)
- Prix Daniel Guinier (2009)