Photonics in Flatland: challenges and opportunities for nanophotonics with 2D semiconductors

Ali Azimi; Julien Barrier; Angela Barreda; Thomas Bauer; Farzaneh Bouzari; Abel Brokkelkamp; Francesco Buatier de Mongeot; Timothy Parsons; Peter Christianen; Sonia Conesa-Boj; Alberto G. Curto; Suprova Das; Bernardo Dias; Itai Epstein; Zlata Fedorova; F. Javier García de Abajo; Ilya Goykhman; Lara Greten; Johanna Grönqvist; Ludovica Guarneri; Yujie Guo; Tom Hoekstra; Xuerong Hu; Benjamin Laudert; Jason Lynch; Sabrina Meyer; Battulga Munkhbat; Dragomir Neshev; Masha Ogienko; Sotirios Papadopoulos; Aparna Parappurath; Jeroen Sangers; Pedro Soubelet; Chris Soukaras; Giancarlo Soavi; Isabelle Staude; Zhipei Sun; Klaas Jan Tielrooij; MD Gius Uddin; Alexey Ustinov; Jorik van de Groep; Jasper van Wezel; Nathalie Vermeulen; Hai Wang; Yadong Wang; Sanshui Xiao; Bingying You; Xavier Zambrana-Puyalto

doi:10.1038/s44310-025-00092-3

Photonics in Flatland: challenges and opportunities for nanophotonics with 2D semiconductors

Ali Azimi, Julien Barrier, Angela Barreda, Thomas Bauer, Farzaneh Bouzari, Abel Brokkelkamp, Francesco Buatier de Mongeot, Timothy Parsons, Peter Christianen, Sonia Conesa-Boj^*, Alberto G. Curto^*, Suprova Das, Bernardo Dias, Itai Epstein, Zlata Fedorova, F. Javier García de Abajo, Ilya Goykhman, Lara Greten, Johanna Grönqvist, Ludovica GuarneriYujie Guo, Tom Hoekstra, Xuerong Hu, Benjamin Laudert, Jason Lynch, Sabrina Meyer, Battulga Munkhbat, Dragomir Neshev, Masha Ogienko, Sotirios Papadopoulos, Aparna Parappurath, Jeroen Sangers, Pedro Soubelet, Chris Soukaras, Giancarlo Soavi, Isabelle Staude^*, Zhipei Sun^*, Klaas Jan Tielrooij^*, MD Gius Uddin, Alexey Ustinov, Jorik van de Groep^*, Jasper van Wezel, Nathalie Vermeulen, Hai Wang, Yadong Wang, Sanshui Xiao, Bingying You, Xavier Zambrana-Puyalto

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are emerging as a versatile platform for nanophotonics, offering unprecedented tunability in optical properties through exciton resonance engineering, van der Waals heterostructuring, and external field control. These materials enable active optical modulation, single-photon emission, quantum photonics, and valleytronic functionalities, paving the way for next-generation optoelectronic and quantum photonic devices. However, key challenges remain in achieving large-area integration, maintaining excitonic coherence, and optimizing amplitude-phase modulation for efficient light manipulation. Advances in fabrication, strain engineering, and computational modeling will be crucial to overcoming these limitations. This Perspective highlights recent progress in 2D semiconductor-based nanophotonics, emphasizing opportunities for scalable integration into photonics.

Original language	English
Article number	44
Journal	npj Nanophotonics
Volume	2
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s44310-025-00092-3
Publication status	Published - Dec 2025
MoE publication type	A2 Review article, Literature review, Systematic review

Funding

This Perspective is the result of a Lorentz workshop (“Photonics in Flatland: Empowering Nanophotonics with 2D Semiconductors”, meeting ID 23767) that acknowledges funding from the Lorentz Center, the Dutch Research Council (NWO) through the Lorentz Center and Vidi project (VI.Vidi.203.027), Leiden University, the University of Amsterdam, and Ghent University through the financial support of the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (Grant Agreement 948804, CHANSON). Z.F., G.S., A.B. and I.S. acknowledge funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), Project-ID: 437527638—IRTG 2675 (Meta-Active). S.C.B. acknowledge financial support from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) via a Vidi Grant (VI.Vidi.213.159).

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Azimi, A., Barrier, J., Barreda, A., Bauer, T., Bouzari, F., Brokkelkamp, A., Buatier de Mongeot, F., Parsons, T., Christianen, P., Conesa-Boj, S., Curto, A. G., Das, S., Dias, B., Epstein, I., Fedorova, Z., García de Abajo, F. J., Goykhman, I., Greten, L., Grönqvist, J., ... Zambrana-Puyalto, X. (2025). Photonics in Flatland: challenges and opportunities for nanophotonics with 2D semiconductors. npj Nanophotonics, 2(1), Article 44. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44310-025-00092-3

@article{a219032fc88740b08107c3903cf3989a,

title = "Photonics in Flatland: challenges and opportunities for nanophotonics with 2D semiconductors",

abstract = "Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are emerging as a versatile platform for nanophotonics, offering unprecedented tunability in optical properties through exciton resonance engineering, van der Waals heterostructuring, and external field control. These materials enable active optical modulation, single-photon emission, quantum photonics, and valleytronic functionalities, paving the way for next-generation optoelectronic and quantum photonic devices. However, key challenges remain in achieving large-area integration, maintaining excitonic coherence, and optimizing amplitude-phase modulation for efficient light manipulation. Advances in fabrication, strain engineering, and computational modeling will be crucial to overcoming these limitations. This Perspective highlights recent progress in 2D semiconductor-based nanophotonics, emphasizing opportunities for scalable integration into photonics.",

author = "Ali Azimi and Julien Barrier and Angela Barreda and Thomas Bauer and Farzaneh Bouzari and Abel Brokkelkamp and \{Buatier de Mongeot\}, Francesco and Timothy Parsons and Peter Christianen and Sonia Conesa-Boj and Curto, \{Alberto G.\} and Suprova Das and Bernardo Dias and Itai Epstein and Zlata Fedorova and \{Garc{\'i}a de Abajo\}, \{F. Javier\} and Ilya Goykhman and Lara Greten and Johanna Gr{\"o}nqvist and Ludovica Guarneri and Yujie Guo and Tom Hoekstra and Xuerong Hu and Benjamin Laudert and Jason Lynch and Sabrina Meyer and Battulga Munkhbat and Dragomir Neshev and Masha Ogienko and Sotirios Papadopoulos and Aparna Parappurath and Jeroen Sangers and Pedro Soubelet and Chris Soukaras and Giancarlo Soavi and Isabelle Staude and Zhipei Sun and Tielrooij, \{Klaas Jan\} and Uddin, \{MD Gius\} and Alexey Ustinov and \{van de Groep\}, Jorik and \{van Wezel\}, Jasper and Nathalie Vermeulen and Hai Wang and Yadong Wang and Sanshui Xiao and Bingying You and Xavier Zambrana-Puyalto",

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Azimi, A, Barrier, J, Barreda, A, Bauer, T, Bouzari, F, Brokkelkamp, A, Buatier de Mongeot, F, Parsons, T, Christianen, P, Conesa-Boj, S, Curto, AG, Das, S, Dias, B, Epstein, I, Fedorova, Z, García de Abajo, FJ, Goykhman, I, Greten, L, Grönqvist, J, Guarneri, L, Guo, Y, Hoekstra, T, Hu, X, Laudert, B, Lynch, J, Meyer, S, Munkhbat, B, Neshev, D, Ogienko, M, Papadopoulos, S, Parappurath, A, Sangers, J, Soubelet, P, Soukaras, C, Soavi, G, Staude, I, Sun, Z, Tielrooij, KJ, Uddin, MDG, Ustinov, A, van de Groep, J, van Wezel, J, Vermeulen, N, Wang, H, Wang, Y, Xiao, S, You, B & Zambrana-Puyalto, X 2025, 'Photonics in Flatland: challenges and opportunities for nanophotonics with 2D semiconductors', npj Nanophotonics, vol. 2, no. 1, 44. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44310-025-00092-3

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T1 - Photonics in Flatland: challenges and opportunities for nanophotonics with 2D semiconductors

AU - Azimi, Ali

AU - Barrier, Julien

AU - Barreda, Angela

AU - Bauer, Thomas

AU - Bouzari, Farzaneh

AU - Brokkelkamp, Abel

AU - Buatier de Mongeot, Francesco

AU - Parsons, Timothy

AU - Christianen, Peter

AU - Conesa-Boj, Sonia

AU - Curto, Alberto G.

AU - Das, Suprova

AU - Dias, Bernardo

AU - Epstein, Itai

AU - Fedorova, Zlata

AU - García de Abajo, F. Javier

AU - Goykhman, Ilya

AU - Greten, Lara

AU - Grönqvist, Johanna

AU - Guarneri, Ludovica

AU - Guo, Yujie

AU - Hoekstra, Tom

AU - Hu, Xuerong

AU - Laudert, Benjamin

AU - Lynch, Jason

AU - Meyer, Sabrina

AU - Munkhbat, Battulga

AU - Neshev, Dragomir

AU - Ogienko, Masha

AU - Papadopoulos, Sotirios

AU - Parappurath, Aparna

AU - Sangers, Jeroen

AU - Soubelet, Pedro

AU - Soukaras, Chris

AU - Soavi, Giancarlo

AU - Staude, Isabelle

AU - Sun, Zhipei

AU - Tielrooij, Klaas Jan

AU - Uddin, MD Gius

AU - Ustinov, Alexey

AU - van de Groep, Jorik

AU - van Wezel, Jasper

AU - Vermeulen, Nathalie

AU - Wang, Hai

AU - Wang, Yadong

AU - Xiao, Sanshui

AU - You, Bingying

AU - Zambrana-Puyalto, Xavier

PY - 2025/12

Y1 - 2025/12

N2 - Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are emerging as a versatile platform for nanophotonics, offering unprecedented tunability in optical properties through exciton resonance engineering, van der Waals heterostructuring, and external field control. These materials enable active optical modulation, single-photon emission, quantum photonics, and valleytronic functionalities, paving the way for next-generation optoelectronic and quantum photonic devices. However, key challenges remain in achieving large-area integration, maintaining excitonic coherence, and optimizing amplitude-phase modulation for efficient light manipulation. Advances in fabrication, strain engineering, and computational modeling will be crucial to overcoming these limitations. This Perspective highlights recent progress in 2D semiconductor-based nanophotonics, emphasizing opportunities for scalable integration into photonics.

AB - Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are emerging as a versatile platform for nanophotonics, offering unprecedented tunability in optical properties through exciton resonance engineering, van der Waals heterostructuring, and external field control. These materials enable active optical modulation, single-photon emission, quantum photonics, and valleytronic functionalities, paving the way for next-generation optoelectronic and quantum photonic devices. However, key challenges remain in achieving large-area integration, maintaining excitonic coherence, and optimizing amplitude-phase modulation for efficient light manipulation. Advances in fabrication, strain engineering, and computational modeling will be crucial to overcoming these limitations. This Perspective highlights recent progress in 2D semiconductor-based nanophotonics, emphasizing opportunities for scalable integration into photonics.

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U2 - 10.1038/s44310-025-00092-3

DO - 10.1038/s44310-025-00092-3

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AN - SCOPUS:105023872453

SN - 2948-216X

VL - 2

JO - npj Nanophotonics

JF - npj Nanophotonics

IS - 1

M1 - 44

ER -

Photonics in Flatland: challenges and opportunities for nanophotonics with 2D semiconductors

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Photonics in Flatland: challenges and opportunities for nanophotonics with 2D semiconductors

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