Purdue University · West Lafayette, IN
Nanometa Group - Purdue Birck Nanotechnology Center ↗
Student Researcher (PIs: V.M. Shalaev, A. Boltasseva, A. Banerjee)
Oct 2025 - PresentSynthesized high-purity single crystals of anisotropic 2D MoOCl2 oxyhalides via Chemical Vapor Transport (CVT), confirming monoclinic C2/m phase purity via Single-Crystal XRD (R-factor = 3.21%) and Raman spectroscopy. Mapped propagation of visible-frequency Hyperbolic Plasmon Polaritons (HPPs) in MoOCl2 using s-SNOM near-field optical microscopy under 1.8 µm excitation, demonstrating extreme spatial mode compression down to 483 nm (n = 1) key to next-generation sub-diffraction nanophotonic computing, sensing, and superlensing.
- —CVT growth of high-purity anisotropic MoOCl2 single crystals
- —Single-Crystal XRD confirmation (R-factor = 3.21%, monoclinic C2/m)
- —s-SNOM near-field optical microscopy mapping hyperbolic polaritons with mode compression to 483 nm
Open Quantum Initiative (OQI) & Purdue SURF Fellow (PI: Vladimir Shalaev)
May 2026 - Jul 2026Selected for the Open Quantum Initiative (OQI) Fellowship by Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE) and Purdue SURF Fellowship to execute advanced quantum nanophotonics research; awarded SURF honors. Achieved up to 350% polarization-dependent single photon emission modulation at 4.5 K by engineering hBN/WSe2/MoOCl2 2D heterostructures with ALD Al2O3 dielectric spacers, laying groundwork for tunable quantum photonic components. Engineered the first deterministically twisted MXene bilayers via AFM lithography and polymer dry-transfer techniques to explore moiré-induced optoelectronic phenomena. Constructed custom Near-Infrared (NIR) cryogenic optical collection and excitation setups with high-NA objectives and spectral filters for low-temperature exciton and silicon nitride single photon emission diagnostics.
- —Awarded prestigious regional OQI Fellowship & Purdue SURF Honors
- —Achieved up to 350% polarization-dependent single photon emission modulation at 4.5 K
- —Deterministic AFM dry-transfer twisting of MXene and TMD heterostructures
- —Constructed custom NIR cryogenic optical collection setups (4.5 K) with high-NA optics
Core contributions
·Demonstrated extreme spatial mode compression (483 nm) of visible hyperbolic polaritons in 2D MoOCl2 crystals.
·Engineered hBN/WSe2/MoOCl2 van der Waals heterostructures achieving 350% single photon emission modulation at 4.5 K.
·Built custom cryogenic optical excitation/collection setups with sub-micron spatial resolution.