Computational Optoelectronics and Photonics

Research

We are interested in the optical, electronic and quantum optical properties of different material systems, which we analyse by microscopic theory and numerical simulations. For example, we investigate situations in which matter is excited by very short laser pulses. This allows us to study in detail ultrafast dynamical processes that occur on time scales of a few femtoseconds (1 fs = 10^-15 s) or even in the range of attoseconds (1 as = 10^-18 s). Nonlinearities resulting from the interaction with very intense light pulses can drastically change the optical properties. Besides purely optical processes, optically induced transport phenomena are also of great interest. Furthermore, a strong focus is on investigating interactions with quantum light, which sheds new light on the fundamentals of the interaction between light and matter and is very promising for various applications in quantum technology.

Team

We are a diverse international team working on the different topics and projects.

Publications

See complete list in our Research Information System
see also ORCID profile and google scholar profile of Torsten Meier

Selected recent publications

Near-bandgap harmonic generation in solids from multiple scattering revealed by complex quantum trajectories,
X. Huo, X. Liu, S. Yang, X. Song, T. Meier, and W. Yang,
Physical Review Research 8, 033303 (2026).

An ultra-bright, highly-scalable, squeezed light source for hybrid quantum photonics,
K.-H. Luo, D. Kopylov, F. Lütkewitte, J. -L. Eickmann, S. Atzeni, F. Schlue, B. Brecht, T. Meier, P. Sharapova, M. Stefszky, and C. Silberhorn,
arXiv:2608.18950 [quant-ph]

Increase of intensity-dependent excitonic second- and third-harmonic generation induced by static electric fields demonstrated for the K exciton of a 2H homobilayer of MoS₂,
R. Zuo, M. Reichelt, C. Ngo, X. Song, W. Yang, and T. Meier,
Phys. Rev. B 113, 205309 (2026).

Assessing the classicality of photon echo from excitons in lead halide perovskite nanocrystals,
G. Alkhalil, H. Rose, A.V. Trifonov, P. Sharapova, J. Sperling, D.R. Yakovlev, E.V. Kolobkova, M.S. Kuznetsova, M. Aßmann, M. Bayer, T. Meier, and I.A. Akimov,
arXiv:2603.25996 [cond-mat.mes-hall]

Gain-induced spectral non-degeneracy in type-II parametric down-conversion,
B. Taheri, D. Kopylov, M. Hammer, T. Meier, J. Förstner, and P. R. Sharapova,
arXiv:2603.01656 [quant-ph]

Photon-Statistics-Induced Plateau Reshaping in Solid-State High-Harmonic
Generation Driven by Bright Squeezed Vacuum,
S. Yang, J. Lin, X. Liu, Y. Jiang, T. Meier, X. Song, and W. Yang,
submitted.

Projects

Two projects in the DFG TRR 142/3 Tailored nonlinear photonics:
From fundamental concepts to functional structures:
A02 "Nonlinear spectroscopy of semiconductor nanostructures with quantum light" (Akimov (TU Dortmund), Meier);
A10 "Nonlinear strong-field dynamics of atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides" (Lange & Ruppert (TU Dortmund), Meier).

A complete list of projects is available in the project database

Netzwerke

NEWS

Visit of Humboldt-funded guest scientist Prof. Bernard Essimbi

From May to July 2026, Prof. Dr. Bernard Essimbi from the University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon, visits Paderborn. During his stay, which is funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, he will work on the project “Nonlinear Dynamics of Semiconductor Lasers and Resonant Tunneling Diode Integrated Optoelectronic Oscillators". Welcome Prof. Essimbi!

Successful PhD defense of Dr. Usman Ali

On April 30th, 2025, Dr. Usman Ali successfully defended his thesis “Quantum dynamics in parametrically driven one-dimensional optical lattices”. Congratulations, well done, and all the best for Oldenburg, Usman!

Dr. Ruixin Zuo successfully defended her PhD

On March 25th, 2025, Dr. Ruixin Zuo presented the results of her thesis “Microscopic investigations of light induced harmonic generation: Ultrafast carrier dynamics and excitonic effects” and successfully passed the oral examination of the committee. Congratulations and well done, Ruixin!

Successful PhD defense of Dr. Cong Thanh Ngo

On February 18, 2025, Dr. Cong Thanh Ngo successfully defended his dissertation on:
“Microscopic Analysis of the Nonlinear Optical Properties of Semiconductor Quantum Well Structures: Excitonic Anomalous Currents and Many-Body Correlations of Charge-Transfer Excitons”. Well done & Congratulations, Cong!