A collaboration between IESL, Friedrich Schiller Univ. Jena, Univ. of Regensburg & Univ. of Chemistry and Technology!

In an article published in Nature Photonics, Dr. Ioannis Paradisanos (IESL/FORTH) and collaborators at Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany), University of Regensburg (Germany) and University of Chemistry and Technology (Czech Republic) propose a new approach for the detection of broken time-reversal symmetry and valley imbalance in atomically-thin semiconductors based on second-harmonic generation. This method can selectively probe a net valley imbalance at room temperature generated by ultrafast, coherent and valley-exclusive optical Stark and Bloch–Siegert effects. This work demonstrates the potential and unique capabilities of nonlinear optics as a probe of broken time-reversal symmetry as well as a tool for ultrafast and non-destructive valleytronic operations.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41566-024-01591-z