Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026

Using Microwave and Macroscopic Samples of Dielectric Solids to Study the Photonic Properties of Disordered Photonic Bandgap Materials
Published on: September 26, 2014
Artificial honeycomb lattices for electrons, atoms and photons
Marco Polini1, Francisco Guinea, Maciej Lewenstein
1NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, I-56126 Pisa, Italy. m.polini@sns.it
Abstract:
Artificial honeycomb lattices offer a tunable platform for studying massless Dirac quasiparticles and their topological and correlated phases. Here we review recent progress in the design and fabrication of such synthetic structures focusing on nanopatterning of two-dimensional electron gases in semiconductors, molecule-by-molecule assembly by scanning probe methods and optical trapping of ultracold atoms in crystals of light. We also discuss photonic crystals with Dirac cone dispersion and topologically protected edge states. We emphasize how the interplay between single-particle band-structure engineering and cooperative effects leads to spectacular manifestations in tunnelling and optical spectroscopies.
Related Concept Videos
Lattice Energies of Ionic Crystals
The de Broglie Wavelength
Trends in Lattice Energy: Ion Size and Charge
Structures of Solids
Metallic Solids
All metallic solids exhibit high thermal and electrical conductivity, metallic luster, and malleability. Many...
Lattice Centering and Coordination Number
Types of Unit Cells
Imagine taking a large number of identical...

