The objective of this research effort is to understand the nonequilibrium dynamics of quasiparticles and polaritons in transition metal dicahcogenides (TMDCs) and their heterostructures.

Our work is multidisciplinary. Members of our team fabricate monolayer TMDCs (e.g., WS2, MoSe2, etc.) and other 2D materials (hBN, Graphene) by exfoliation or chemical vapor deposition. Heterostructures and other device geometries are assembled using mechanical transfer techniques. Photonic structures and device contacts are fabricated using lithographic techniques. A wide range of instruments are employed to characterize these materials: photoluminescence mapping, Raman mapping, ellipsometry, AFM, etc. Additional instrumentation resides in the Nanoscience Institute, a shared facility open to researchers on our campus. 

Our group is interested in the behavior of excitons, trions, and exciton-polaritons in TMDCs. Our research topics include:

• energy and charge dynamics in homo and heterobilayers
• single photon emission
• photonic integration, waveguiding and Purcell enhancement
• strong coupling, exction polariton dynamics and nonlinear behavoir

Our Laser Lab is used to interrogate these systems with a variety of static and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques. Our facility includes:

• real-space and angle-resolved (Fourier-space) transmission/reflection/fluorescence with a closed cycle cryostat
• photon correlation measurements via time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) with a  closed cycle cryostat
• femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy in the UV/VIS and NIR
• time-resolved photoluminescence via TCSPC with detectors spanning the visible and SWIR regions
• femtosecond upconversion-PL spectroscopy in the VIS and NIR
• cryostats compatible with time-resolved setups

Qualified candidates should possess or be completing a PhD in physics, chemistry, or related discipline with experience in time-resolved spectroscopy or steayd state microscopy. Ultrafast spectroscopy or time-resolved microscopy are a plus, as is familiarity with photophysics in either two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides, other low dimensional semiconductors, organic semiconductors, or other excitonic systems.

 

Recent publications:

Policht, et al., MRS Commun. 15, 1 (2025) - Cavity Polariton Dynamics Prospective

Cunningham, et al., ACS Photonics 11, 3250 (2024) - Light-matter coupling to Plasmonic Discs

LaGasse, et al., Adv Mater. 36, 2309777 (2024) - Coupling emission to hBN waveguide

Cunningham, et al., Nat. Commun. 10, 5539 (2019) – Valley Optical Stark Effect

Cunningham, et al., ACS Nano 11, 12601 (2017) – Bandgap Renormalization

Cunningham, et al., J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 7, 5242 (2016) – Exciton-Exciton Annihilation

key words

Photophysics; 2D materials; Transition metal dichalcogenides; van der Waals, cavities; polaritons; Spectroscopy; Time-Resolved

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral applicants

Additional Benefits

Relocation

Awardees who reside more than 50 miles from their host laboratory and remain on tenure for at least six months are eligible for paid relocation to within the vicinity of their host laboratory.

Health insurance

A group health insurance program is available to awardees and their qualifying dependents in the United States.