Last month, materials scientists made one of the most exciting discoveries in a generation. Specifically, they have unambiguously observed the so-called “Floquet effects” in graphene for the very first time. Professors Marcel Reutzel and Stefan Mathias at the University of Göttingen conduct fascinating research. Their discovery opens exciting new avenues for manipulating electronic states in graphene with light. The results, published July 18 in the journal Nature Physics, serve to highlight graphene’s promise as a “miracle material” underpinning next-generation electronic applications.
Graphene is a material made from a single layer of interlocking carbon atoms, only one atom thick. Specifically, it’s exceptional for its incredible stability and top-notch conductivity. These properties have made it famous for being a revolutionary material in the electronics. Recent observations of Floquet effects have furthered our understanding of light’s interaction with this unique material. This advance unlocks amazing new possibilities for innovation in electronic devices.
Understanding Floquet Effects
Floquet effects are those that arise when a material is driven periodically — for instance, by shining light on it. In this paper, the research team used femtosecond momentum microscopy to study non-equilibrium Floquet states in graphene. This highly advanced technique gives scientists an opportunity to detect the material’s electronic properties with new levels of precision.
To get their samples vibrating, the scientists used very short pulses of light, infrared and terahertz specifically, to pump the graphene chambers. By using a delayed light pulse, they were able to track dynamic processes within the material, observing how the electronic states respond to various stimuli. This unique new technique overcomes challenge and given an unexpected fundamental understanding of graphene in isolation to the surface.
The importance of this finding is what it could be used for. Controlling electronic states in graphene with light could lead to the development of faster and more efficient electronic components and devices. This incredible finding pretty much completes the puzzle of graphene’s remarkable properties. It puts graphene in a leading position for next-generation electronics.
Implications for Future Electronics
That means the implications of unlocking Floquet effects in graphene. The more scientists understand how to create and control new electronic states, the greater the promise becomes for breakthroughs in energy, computing and other diverse technologies. Graphene’s extraordinary properties have extraordinary promise. Leveraging these new discoveries, we might develop soon develop extremely-responsive electronic devices that function at unprecedented speeds.
Industries from telecommunications to computing will reap the benefits of these advances. By controlling electronic properties with light, data processing could be done orders of magnitude faster. It will improve energy efficiency, too, and create new possibilities in quantum computing. As scientists persist in exploring graphene’s potential, its place in defining the next generation of electronics grows more important.
Research Collaboration and Publication
As the groundbreaking research from Professors Reutzel and Mathias shows, it’s often collaboration that’s needed most when it comes to igniting scientific discovery. Their work is an important breakthrough into our fundamental understanding of how light interacts with materials at the atomic scale. The team went to great pains to document their findings thoroughly and published them in Nature Physics. This produces an essential shared asset for their fellow scientists in the field.
The two papers related to this research can be accessed through their respective Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs): 10.1038/s41567-025-02889-7 and 10.1038/s41567-025-02939-0. These posts walk you through the approaches they took in their work. They further emphasize the implications of their findings, which pushes for more exploration into Floquet effects and their applications.