Source: Peking University  13^th Nov 2024

From entering Peking University to pursue a doctoral degree in 2004 to becoming a renowned scholar in the field of condensed matter optics today, Professor Ma Renmin of the School of Physics at Peking University, a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, has led his research group to achieve a series of significan breakthroughs in the study of nanolasers, driven by his passionate love for scientific research and indomitable perseverance.

Recent photo of Ma Renmin

He and his team confirmed the performance advantages of plasmonic nanolasers, proposed and realized the magic-angle nanolaser, breaking the limitation that nanolasers could only achieve single or fixed-array coherent lasing. They successfully achieved a reconfigurable moiré nanolaser array. In July 2024, Ma Renmin's research group published a cutting-edge innovation in Nature titled Singularity Dielectric Nanolaser with Atomic-Scale Localized Light Field. This study proposed the singularity dispersion equation, constructed a theoretical framework to break the optical diffraction limit in dielectric systems, and achieved the smallest mode volume laser to date.

These research achievements have been widely recognized by the academic community. 

Whether metals can enhance laser performance has long been an unresolved issue in the field of nanooptics... Ma Renmin and his collaborators have solved this problem through meticulous experiments... The experimental results are of great significance and pave the way for further miniaturization of lasers.

——Nature Materials Feature Article Confirms the Performance Advantages of Plasmonic Nanolasers

The design concept is highly innovative and demonstrates outstanding device performance at the same time.

——Nature Nanotechnology Special Report on Magic-Angle Nanolasers

Combining multiple lasers into a bright light source seems simple but is actually extremely complex... Their original application of the Moiré flat band overcame this challenge.

——Nature features a report on reconfigurable moiré nanolaser arrays. 

In addition, the achievements of Ma Renmin's team were selected as the key achievements of Physics by the American Physical Society in 2018, among the top ten optical advancements in China in 2018 and 2020, among the top ten research advancements in semiconductors in China in 2020, and among the 100 most influential academic papers in China in 2020. They were also recognized as major achievements at the 2024 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference. Ma Renmin was awarded the Third "Science Exploration Award" in 2021 and the Wang Daheng Optical Award by the Chinese Optical Society in 2022, among others.

Some of the awards received by Ma Renmin and his team.

Ma Renmin guided students in conducting experiments.

Ma Renmin introduced that since the invention of the laser in 1960, scientists have been committed to compressing the light field in dimensions such as time and space to achieve higher-performance lasers. In the time dimension, the extreme compression of the light field has produced attosecond lasers, making it possible to observe the ultrafast motion of microscopic particles, and related research has won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics. In the spatial dimension, the nano-lasers achieved through the extreme compression of the light field are expected to bring new opportunities for the next generation of information technology and the study of the interaction between light and matter under strong light field localization. 

Blessed to have a good teacher, I repay the teacher's kindness by passing on the teachings. 

A group photo of Ma Renmin with Qin Guogang (right) and Dai Lun (left) in 2013.

The meticulous guidance of his teachers and the relaxed and free academic atmosphere at Peking University provided Ma Renmin with a vast space to explore the physical world. During his postgraduate studies, he successively won numerous honors such as the "Top Ten Academic Stars" of Peking University, the Ye Qisun Experimental Physics Award, the Outstanding Graduate of Peking University, and the National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation. He said, "These awards are affirmations of the research achievements I have made under the meticulous guidance of my teachers. More importantly, the teachings and examples of my teachers have enabled me to deeply understand the true spirit of scientific research during my research process." 

A photo of Ma Renmin and Zhang Xiang (on the left) taken in 2014.

Ma Renmin discussed with his team.