Prof. Yun Lai received the PhD degree (Physics) from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in 2005. He worked as a Research Associate in the Department of Physics in HKUST until 2011. From 2011 to 2018, he became a Professor in Soochow University in Suzhou, China. In 2018, he joined the School of Physics in Nanjing University as a Professor.
Prof. Lai's research interests include metamaterials/metasurfaces, photonic and phononic crystals, nanophotonics and plasmonics, etc. He has published more than 160 SCI papers on high-impact journals, including Science, Nature Materials, Nature Communications, Science Advances, Physical Review Letters/X, Light Science & Applications, Optica, etc. Total citations exceed 7000. He has pioneered some seminal concepts and applications of artificial structures, such as cloaking at a distance and illusion optics, double-zero media as effective void space, hybrid elastic solids with polarization selectivity, clearly transparent materials with diffuse reflection, omnidirectional Brewster effect and anomalous Brewster effect, zero-spacing waveguide arrays and photonic circuits, interface metasurfaces with combined functions of antireflection and wavefront control, soundproof acoustic meta-cage, etc. These breakthroughs have been reported by famous science media like Science, Nature, Physics Today, etc. He has published 4 book chapters and given more than 50 invited talks. He has been granted 20 Chinese patents and 2 US patents.
For a complete list of his publication, pls see his ORCID and Google scholar.
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0040-9274
Google scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=XTPNaQsAAAAJ&view_op=list_works
Research Group Website: https://lailab.nju.edu.cn
Classical Mechanics
News:
Transparent Matte Glass invented by Prof. Lai's team is selected as “Best Achievements in Optical Metamaterials in Three Years”,“Best Achievements in Optoelectronics in Three Years”。
NewScientist:https://www.newscientist.com/article/2422515-gold-flecks-make-super-transparent-glass-fully-opaque-from-one-side/
Jiangsu TV · JiangsuNews Watch:https://m.jstv.com/video/2024/4/13/1228789913586044928.html
Jiangsu TV · News Watch:https://m.jstv.com/video/2024/4/13/1228776306156576768.html
Hunan TV · News and Science:https://www.mgtv.com/b/607797/21267736.html?t=videoshare&externalsource=v_play&tc=jXKKosRPSAN7&f=wxf&dc=460e2a59-50d0-4ece-a7f9-4f7267905969
Nanjing Daily:http://njrb.njdaily.cn/njrb/h5/html5/2024-04/12/content_53_146525.htm
Jinling Evening News:http://jlwb.njdaily.cn/h5/html5/2024-04/12/content_552_146426.htm
Prof. Lai's research interests include metamaterials/metasurfaces, photonic and phononic crystals, nanophotonics and plasmonics, etc. He is currently focused on:
1. Breaking some classical limitations in optics, electrodynamics and acoustics, such as the conflict between diffuse reflection and transparency, the bottleneck of dense integration in waveguide systems, the bottleneck of bandwidth in absorptive materials, etc.
2. Optical invisibility, illusion and light-field display.
3. Zero-refractive-index optics and applications.
4. Metamaterials for wireless communications.
5. Energy harvesting and wireless transfer.
6. Non-Hermitian physics.
7. Other original ideas.
For a complete list of his publication, pls see his ORCID and Google scholar.
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0040-9274
Google scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=XTPNaQsAAAAJ&view_op=list_works
Research Group Website: https://lailab.nju.edu.cn
Selected Publications
H. Chu, X. Xiong, N. X. Fang, F. Wu, R. Jia, R.W. Peng*, M. Wang*, Y. Lai*, Matte surfaces with broadband transparency enabled by highly asymmetric diffusion of white light, Science Advances 10, eadm8061 (2024). Highlights:
NewScientist:https://www.newscientist.com/article/2422515-gold-flecks-make-super-transparent-glass-fully-opaque-from-one-side/
Jiangsu TV · JiangsuNews Watch:https://m.jstv.com/video/2024/4/13/1228789913586044928.html
Jiangsu TV · News Watch:https://m.jstv.com/video/2024/4/13/1228776306156576768.html
Hunan TV · News and Science:https://www.mgtv.com/b/607797/21267736.html?t=videoshare&externalsource=v_play&tc=jXKKosRPSAN7&f=wxf&dc=460e2a59-50d0-4ece-a7f9-4f7267905969
Nanjing Daily:http://njrb.njdaily.cn/njrb/h5/html5/2024-04/12/content_53_146525.htm
Jinling Evening News:http://jlwb.njdaily.cn/h5/html5/2024-04/12/content_552_146426.htm.
C.K. Liu, C. Ma, Y. Lai*, N.X. Fang*, Ultra-broadband illusion acoustics for space and time camouflages, Nature Communications 15, 8046 (2024).
H. Luo, J. Luo*, Z.H. Zhang, C. Wu, Q. Li, W. Liu, R.W. Peng, M. Wang, H.Q. Li*, and Y. Lai*, Dielectric metamaterials with effective self-duality and full-polarization omnidirectional brewster effect, Light: Science & Applications 13, 262 (2024).
W. Ji, J. Luo*, T. Song, R.W. Peng*, M. Wang*, Y. Lai*, Cladding-Free Hyperbolic Waveguide Arrays, ACS Photonics 11, 2422 (2024).
R. Mei, Y.D. Xu, L. Gao, H.X. Xu*, Y. Lai*, and J. Luo*, Skin Effect of Electromagnetic Flux in Anisotropic Zero‐Index Metamaterials, Advanced Optical Materials 2401569 (2024).
R.Q. Jia, Y.X. Jing, H.C. Chu*, R.W. Peng*, M. Wang*, and Y. Lai*, Dewdrop Metasurfaces and Dynamic Control Based on Condensation and Evaporation, Advanced Science 2404010 (2024).
B. Xiong, Y. Liu, Y.H. Xu, L. Deng, C.-W. Chen, J.-N. Wang, R.W. Peng*, Y. Lai, Y.M. Liu*, M. Wang*, Breaking the limitation of polarization multiplexing in optical metasurfaces with engineered noise, Science 379, 294 (2023). Highlights: Add noise for better multiplexing, Nature Photonics 17, 294 (2023).
H.Y. Fan, H.C. Chu, H. Luo, Y. Lai*, L. Gao*, J. Luo*, Brewster metasurfaces for ultrabroadband reflectionless absorption at grazing incidence, Optica 9, 1138 (2022).
T.T. Song, H.C. Chu, J. Luo, Z.Z. Cao, M. Xiao, R.W. Peng*, M. Wang*, Y. Lai*, Ultracompact Photonic Circuits without Cladding Layers, Physical Review X 12, 011053 (2022). Highlights: Cladding-Free Photonic Circuits Boost Dense On-Chip Integration, Physics 15, 39 (2022). Photonic waveguides shed their cladding, Physics Today 75, 6, 20 (2022).
H.C. Chu, X. Xiong, Y.-J. Gao, J. Luo, H. Jing, C.-Y. Li, R.W. Peng*, M. Wang*, Y. Lai*, Diffuse reflection and reciprocity-protected transmission via a random-flip metasurface, Science Advances 7, eabj0935 (2021).
C.Q. Xu, H.C. Chu, J. Luo, Z.H. Hang, Y. Wu*, and Y. Lai*, Three-Dimensional Electromagnetic Void Space, Physical Review Letters 127, 123902 (2021).
H.C. Chu, H.Y. Zhang, Y. Zhang, R.W. Peng, M. Wang, Y. Hao*, and Y. Lai*, Invisible surfaces enabled by the coalescence of anti-reflection and wavefront controllability in ultrathin metasurfaces, Nature Communications 12, 4523 (2021).
C.K. Liu, J.J. Shi, W. Zhao, X.X. Zhou, C. Ma, R.W. Peng, M. Wang, Z. H. Hang, X.Z. Liu, J. Christensen, N.X. Fang*, and Y. Lai*, Three-Dimensional Soundproof Acoustic Metacage, Physical Review Letters 127, 084301 (2021). (Editor's Suggestion)
J. Luo*, H.C. Chu, R.W. Peng, M. Wang, J. Li*, Y. Lai*, Ultra-broadband reflectionless Brewster absorber protected by reciprocity, Light: Science & Applications 10, 89 (2021).
C.Q. Xu, G.C. Ma, G. Chen, J. Luo, J.J. Shi, Y. Lai*, Y. Wu*,Three-Dimensional Acoustic Double-Zero-Index Medium with a Fourfold Degenerate Dirac-like Point, Physical Review Letters 124, 074501 (2020).
H. Chu, Q. Li, B. Liu, J. Luo, S. Sun*, Z. H. Hang*, L. Zhou, and Y. Lai*, A hybrid invisibility cloak based on integration of transparent metasurfaces and zero-index materials, Light: Science and Applications 7, 50 (2018).
J. Luo, J. Li*, and Y. Lai*, Electromagnetic Impurity-Immunity Induced by Parity-Time Symmetry, Physical Review X 8, 031035 (2018).
J. Luo, B. Liu, Z. H. Hang*, and Y. Lai*, Coherent Perfect Absorption via Photonic Doping of Zero-Index Media, Laser & Photonics Reviews 12, 1800001 (2018).
G.C. Ma*, C.X. Fu, G.H. Wang, d.H. Philipp, J. Christensen, Y. Lai*, and P. Sheng, Polarization bandgaps and fluid-like elasticity in fully solid elastic metamaterials, Nature Communications 7, 13536 (2016).
J. Luo, Y.T. Yang, Z.Q. Yao, W.X. Lu, B. Hou, Z.H. Hang*, C.T. Chan, and Y. Lai*, Ultratransparent Media and Transformation Optics with Shifted Spatial Dispersions, Physical Review Letters 117, 223901, (2016). (Editor's Suggestion, PRL Cover Story)
J. Luo, Z. H. Hang, C. T. Chan, and Y. Lai*, Unusual percolation threshold of electromagnetic waves in double-zero medium embedded with random inclusions, Laser & Photonics Reviews 9, 523-529 (2015).
J. Luo, W. Lu, Z. Hang, H. Chen, B. Hou, Y. Lai*, and C.T. Chan, Arbitrary Control of Electromagnetic Flux in Inhomogeneous Anisotropic Media with Near-Zero Index, Physical Review Letters 112, 073903 (2014).
X. Huang†, Y. Lai†, Z.H. Hang†, H. Zheng, and C.T. Chan, Dirac cones induced by accidental degeneracy in photonic crystals and zero-refractive-index materials, Nature Materials 10, 582-586 (2011). (cited by 630 times)
Y. Lai†, Y. Wu†, P. Sheng, and Z.-Q. Zhang, Hybrid elastic solids, Nature Materials 10, 620-624 (2011). (cited by 313 times) Nature Materials Highlight Neither Solid nor Liquid, Nature Materials 10, 565 (2011).
Y. Lai, J. Ng, H. Chen, D. Han, J. Xiao, Z.-Q. Zhang, and C.T. Chan, Illusion Optics: The Optical Transformation of an Object into Another Object, Physical Review Letters 102, 253902 (2009). (Editor's Suggestion, cited by 516 times) Highlights: All smoke and metamaterials, Nature 460, 579 (2009). Dream On, Nature Materials 8, 542 (2009).
Y. Lai, H. Chen, Z.-Q. Zhang, and C.T. Chan, Complementary Media Invisibility Cloak that Cloaks Objects at a Distance Outside the Cloaking Shell, Physical Review Letters 102, 093901 (2009). (Editor's Suggestion, cited by 474 times) Highlights: Cloaking at a distance, Physics 2, 17 (2009). Invisibility Umbrella Would Let Future Harry Potters See the Light, Science 323, 701 (2009). Beyond the invisibility cloak, Nature 458, 128 (2009).