Welcome to the Theoretical Solid State Optics Group
The main research focus in our group is on theoretical investigations of the optical properties of semiconductor structures. Our fundamental theoretical investigations of semiconductors are based on microscopic quantum-mechanical many-body theories and include ultrafast nonlinear optical processes in bulk semiconductors and quantum-well structures. Examples of research projects include electromagnetically-induced transparency, polaritonic effects in slow and fast light propagation, nonlinear spectroscopy and all-optical switching applications of Bragg-spaced multiple quantum wells, optical refrigeration of semiconductors, polaritonic four-wave mixing instabilities, pattern formation in polaritonic quantum fluids in semiconductor microcavities, optical and elastic properties of semiconductor nanomembranes, optical properties of graphene, and also a topic not related to semiconductors, namely laser cooling of optical glass fibers.
Prof. Binder received his PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Dortmund in 1989. He is currently professor of Optical Sciences and Professor of Physics, University of Arizona. He has more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America and an Outstanding Referee of the American Physical Society. He is actively involved in the research community, for example by serving on the advisory committee of the Fundamental Optical Processes in Semiconductors (FOPS) conference. The most recent FOPS conference was held in August 2019.
For extracurricular activities, see Dr. Binder’s YouTube channel at this link.
If interested in Dr. Binder’s research, please see his book Optical Properties of Graphene (World Scientific, 2017), which was also announced on EurekAlert.
This book provides a comprehensive state-of-the-art overview of the optical properties of graphene. During the past decade, graphene, a two-dimensional material that is only one atomic layer thick, has become one of the most widely studied materials, and has paved the way for the exploration of other two-dimensional materials such as transition-metal dichalcogenides. The unique properties of graphene hold great promise to revolutionize many electronic, photonic and opto-electronic devices. This book contains an introductory tutorial and 13 chapters written by experts in areas ranging from fundamental quantum mechanical properties to opto-electronic device applications of graphene.