Michaël Lobet, a member of the LPS, is also affiliated with the NISM (Research cluster NOP).

Metamaterials are artificially structured materials used to control and manipulate light, sound and many other physical phenomena. The properties of metamaterials derive both from the inherent properties of the materials of which they are composed and from the geometrical arrangement of these materials.

In particular, we are studying the photonic properties of near-zero refractive index materials and plasmonic systems.

Current collaborations: I. Liberal (Navarra), E. Mazur (Harvard), N. Engheta (UPenn), Y. Li (Tsinghua), H. Bi (JI Hua lab), L. Henrard (UNamur).

Recent publications:

• H. Li, Z. Zhou, Z., W. Sun, M. Lobet, N. Engheta, I. Liberal, Y. Li, "Direct observation of ideal electromagnetic fluids", Nat. Commun 13, 4747 (2022).
• M. Lobet, I. Liberal, L. Vertchenko, A. Lavrinenko, N. Engheta, E. Mazur, "Momentum considerations inside near-zero index materials", Light Sci Appl 11, 110 (2022).
• O. Mello, Y. Li, S.A. Camayd-Muñoz, C. DeVault, M. Lobet, H. Tang, M. Lonçar, E. Mazur "Extended many-body superradiance in diamond epsilon near-zero metamaterials", Appl. Phys. Lett. 120, 061105 (2022).
• I. Liberal, M. Lobet, Y. Li, N. Engheta, "Near-zero index media as electromagnetic ideal fluids", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117 (39) 24050-24054 (2020).
• M. Lobet, I. Liberal, E. N. Knall, M. Zahirul Alam, O. Reshef, R. W. Boyd, N. Engheta, E. Mazur, "Fundamental Radiative Processes in Near-Zero-Index Media of Various Dimensionalities", ACS Photonics, 7 (8), 1965-1970 (2020).
• H. Bi, M. Lobet, S. Saikin, Y. Li, C. Huo, J. Jiahuang, W. Xiaohong J. Reichert, A. Aspuru-Guzik, E. Mazur, "Optically-induced molecular logic operations", ACS Nano, 14,11, 15248-15255, 2020.

This line of research involves the development of efficient strategies for light absorption. We have therefore designed photonic crystals and metamaterials to trap light in photonic systems. We studied perovskite solar cells and perfect ultra-wideband absorbers and used machine learning strategies to do so.

Current collaborations: J. Dewalque (ULg), A. Maho (Bordeaux), A. Mayer (UNamur), O. Deparis (UNamur).

Recent publications:

• N. Daem, A. Mayer, G. Spronck, P. Colson, J. Loicq, C. Henrist, R. Cloots, A. Maho, M. Lobet, J. Dewalque ACS Applied Nano Materials 2022 5 (9), 13583-13593
• A. Maho, M. Lobet, N. Daem, P. Piron, G. Sprong, J. Loicq, R. Cloots, P. Colson, C. Henrist, J. Dewalque "Photonic structuration of hybrid inverse-opal TiO2 perovskite layers for enhanced light absorption in solar cells", ACS Applied Energy Materials, 4, 1108-1119 (2021).
• M. Lobet, P. Piron, J. Dewalque, A.Maho, O. Deparis, C. Henrist, J. Loicq, "Efficiency enhancement of perovskite solar cells based on opal-like photonic crystals," Opt. Express 27, 32308-32322 (2019).
• A. Mayer, H. Bi, S. Griesse-Nascimento, B. Hackens, J. Loicq, E. Mazur, O. Deparis, M. Lobet, "Genetic-algorithm-aided ultra-broadband perfect absorbers using plasmonic metamaterials," Opt. Express 30, 1167-1181 (2022)

• Scholar
• UNamur
• Orcid

Numerical simulations of the optical properties of various photonic systems such as photonic crystals or metamaterials

• Study of slow light in twisted photonic systems with a view to the realization of quantum memories
• Study of the emission properties of metamaterials with refractive indices close to zero (laser design, single-photon source)
• Digital design of an electromagnetic gravitational-wave detector
• Study of the photonic properties of solar sails