My project entitled “Realizing topological phases in nanophotonics” (RETINA) was funded for 641.466,00 euro by the Academy of Finland Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering.

The project will be about topological photonics, a field of research that attracts interest for possible practical applications, from the unidirectional propagation of light to integrated all-optical devices that are robust to external perturbations. However, topological effects of light at the nanoscale are affected by nonlocal and radiative effects in ways that are not fully understood and controlled. The project will tackle this challenge by developing a fundamental theory for out-of-equilibrium topological phases in nanophotonic systems. The project will develop methods for the realization of topological nanophotonic systems with radiative and retardative effects. Particular attention is devoted to the proposal of experimental realizations with nanoplasmonic and exciton-polariton lattices, that will validate the theoretical results together with numerical simulations.

Press release from the Academy of Finland