Weyl Semimetals in Nanophotonics and Quantum Optoelectronics

Weyl semimetals obtain their topological classification from the breaking of inversion or time-reversal symmetry. Consequently, they hold the potential for large optical nonlinearities and nonreciprocal behavior, making Weyl semimetals a very interesting materials class for optoelectronic and photonic applications. In this talk, we discuss our first principles calculations of optoelectronic properties of Weyl semimetals for integration with nanophotonic and plasmonic architectures. We discuss the coupling of atom-like emitters to cavities made from Weyl semimetals, designed with the idea of minimizing the loss penalty of conventional metals, as well as the use of Weyl semimetals for nonreciprocal thermal radiation control, which could avoid the applied magnetic field required in previous nanophotonic device designs. Finally, as an outlook, we will present a general computational approach to develop low-loss, highly nonlinear Dirac and Weyl semimetal materials for photonic information science.