<p>Cuprous oxide (Cu<sub>2</sub>O) has recently been proposed as a promising solid-state host for ex-<br>
citonic Rydberg states with large principal quantum numbers (n) whose exaggerated wave-<br>
function sizes (∝ n<sup>2</sup>) facilitate gigantic, resonant dipole-dipole (∝ n<sup>4</sup>) and van der Waals<br>
(∝ n<sup>11</sup>) interactions, making them an ideal basis for solid-state Rydberg physics and quan-<br>
tum technology. Synthetic, thin-film Cu<sub>2</sub>O samples are of particular interest because they<br>
can be made defect-free via carefully controlled fabrication and are, in principle, suitable<br>
for the observation of extreme single-photon nonlinearities caused by Rydberg blockade. In<br>
this work, we present the development of a spectroscopy experiment for characterizing the<br>
behavior of Rydberg excitons and use it to study a synthetic thin film of Cu<sub>2</sub>O grown on a<br>
transparent substrate. We present evidence for the presence of states up to n = 8 and conduct<br>
the first temperature-dependent study of Rydberg excitons in a thin film. We also propose<br>
a technique for studying Rydberg-Rydberg interactions via the creation of high exciton den-<br>
sities and establish a set of rate equations for modeling the processes by which excitons are<br>
created, interact with each other, and decay. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of the<br>
project’s outlook, as well as what future work will be undertaken to study the interactions<br>
between Rydberg excitons and utilize them in scalable, integrable, Rydberg-based quantum<br>
devices.<br>
</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/22590112 |
| Date | 12 April 2023 |
| Creators | Jacob C DeLange (15209836) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Optical_Properties_of_Rydberg_Excitons_in_Cuprous_Oxide/22590112 |
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