About

Hendrik Utzat is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, within the College of Chemistry, since 2022. He completed his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2019, earned an M.Sc. in Chemistry from ETH Zurich in 2013, and a B.Sc. in Chemistry from RWTH Aachen University between 2008 and 2011. His research focuses on nanoscience, nanophotonics, single molecule spectroscopy, quantum optics, colloidal inorganic nanostructures, bio-nanophotonics, and materials chemistry. The Utzat group conducts experimental research aimed at understanding and harnessing light-matter interactions in nanoscale materials, with current projects involving colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals, emerging single-photon emitters, and optical nanoscopy. Their goal is to synthesize semiconductor materials with tailored optical properties at the level of individual excitations, understanding how material structure influences optical behavior, and developing new materials for optoelectronic applications such as single-photon sources, light-emitting diodes, and nanoscale lasers. Additionally, the group develops methods in optical single-molecule spectroscopy and sensing, utilizing nanophotonics and micro-cavities to achieve higher sensitivity in bio-nanophotonics, including surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and quantum-enhanced optical measurements, to advance tools for unraveling biomolecular processes at the single-molecule level.

Research topics

• Optoelectronics
• Optics
• Condensed matter physics
• Materials science
• Physics
• Nanotechnology
• Physical chemistry
• Quantum mechanics
• Molecular physics
• Chemistry
• Crystallography
• Computational physics

Selected publications

• Supplementary document for Stochastic Equilibrium Raman Spectroscopy (STERS) - 7689739.pdf

  Figshare · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Supplemental Documents

  PublisherDOI

• Stochastic Equilibrium Raman Spectroscopy (STERS)

  Figshare · 2026-01-01

  otherOpen accessSenior author

  In this manuscript, we propose a new method for cavity- and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with improved temporal resolution in the measurement of stochastic Raman spectral fluctuations. Our approach combines Fourier spectroscopy and photon correlation to decouple the integration time from the temporal resolution. Using statistical optics Monte Carlo simulations, we establish the relationship between time resolution and Raman signal strength, revealing that typical Raman spectral fluctuations, commensurate with molecular conformational dynamics, can theoretically be resolved on micro- to millisecond timescales. The method can further extract average single-molecule dynamics from small sub-ensembles, thereby potentially mitigating challenges in achieving strictly single-molecule isolation on SERS substrates.

  PublisherDOI

• Supporting Information

  AIP Publishing · 2026-04-24

  datasetOpen access

  Supporting Information

  PublisherDOI

• Photoluminescence Line Shapes of Nanocrystals: Contributions from First- and Second-Order Vibronic Couplings

  ArXiv.org · 2026-02-27

  articleOpen access

  We present a microscopic, parameter-free approach for computing the photoluminescence spectra of a single semiconductor nanocrystal. The method derives exciton-phonon coupling directly from the semi-empirical pseudopotential framework and systematically incorporates both diagonal and off-diagonal interactions, expanded to second-order in the phonon modes. The dipole-dipole correlation function was calculated using a Dyson expansion within the Kubo-Toyozawa formalism, enabling a consistent description of the role of pure dephasing and population-transfer on the photoluminescence spectral features. Applied to CdSe/CdS core-shell nanocrystals, the approach quantitatively reproduces experimental photoluminescence spectra over a wide temperature range, revealing that quadratic phonon couplings account for nearly half of the homogeneous linewidth above 100-150 K, while off-diagonal couplings leading to exciton thermalization play only a minor role and only as T approaches 300K.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Supplementary document for Stochastic Equilibrium Raman Spectroscopy (STERS) - 7689739.pdf

  Open MIND · 2026-01-01

  articleSenior author

  Supplemental Documents

  DOI

• Photoluminescence Line Shapes of Nanocrystals: Contributions from First- and Second-Order Vibronic Couplings

  AIP Publishing · 2026-04-24

  otherOpen access

  We present a microscopic, parameter-free approach for computing the photoluminescence spectra of a single semiconductor nanocrystal. The method derives exciton-phonon coupling directly from the semi-empirical pseudopotential framework and systematically incorporates both diagonal and off-diagonal interactions, expanded to second-order in the phonon modes. The dipole-dipole correlation function was calculated using a Dyson expansion within the Kubo-Toyozawa formalism, enabling a consistent description of the role of pure dephasing and population-transfer on the photoluminescence spectral features. Applied to CdSe/CdS core-shell nanocrystals, the approach quantitatively reproduces experimental photoluminescence spectra over a wide temperature range, revealing that quadratic phonon couplings account for nearly half of the homogeneous linewidth above $\approx 100-150$K, while off-diagonal couplings leading to exciton thermalization play only a minor role and only as $T\rightarrow 300$K.

  PublisherDOI

• Photoluminescence line shapes of nanocrystals: Contributions from first- and second-order vibronic couplings

  The Journal of Chemical Physics · 2026-04-24

  article

  We present a microscopic, parameter-free approach for computing the photoluminescence spectra of a single semiconductor nanocrystal. The method derives exciton-phonon coupling directly from the semi-empirical pseudopotential framework and systematically incorporates both diagonal and off-diagonal exciton-phonon interactions, expanded to second-order in the phonon coordinates. The dipole-dipole correlation function was calculated using a Dyson expansion within the Kubo-Toyozawa formalism, enabling a consistent description of the role of pure dephasing and population transfer on the photoluminescence spectral features. Applied to CdSe/CdS core-shell nanocrystals, the approach quantitatively reproduces experimental photoluminescence spectra over a wide temperature range, revealing that quadratic phonon couplings account for nearly half of the homogeneous linewidth above ≈100-150 K, while off-diagonal couplings leading to exciton thermalization play only a minor role and only as T → 300 K.

  PublisherDOI

• Stochastic Equilibrium Raman Spectroscopy (STERS)

  Figshare · 2026-01-01

  otherOpen accessSenior author

  In this manuscript, we propose a new method for cavity- and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with improved temporal resolution in the measurement of stochastic Raman spectral fluctuations. Our approach combines Fourier spectroscopy and photon correlation to decouple the integration time from the temporal resolution. Using statistical optics Monte Carlo simulations, we establish the relationship between time resolution and Raman signal strength, revealing that typical Raman spectral fluctuations, commensurate with molecular conformational dynamics, can theoretically be resolved on micro- to millisecond timescales. The method can further extract average single-molecule dynamics from small sub-ensembles, thereby potentially mitigating challenges in achieving strictly single-molecule isolation on SERS substrates.

  PublisherDOI

• Stochastic Equilibrium Raman Spectroscopy (STERS)

  Figshare · 2026-01-01

  otherOpen accessSenior author

  In this manuscript, we propose a new method for cavity- and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with improved temporal resolution in the measurement of stochastic Raman spectral fluctuations. Our approach combines Fourier spectroscopy and photon correlation to decouple the integration time from the temporal resolution. Using statistical optics Monte Carlo simulations, we establish the relationship between time resolution and Raman signal strength, revealing that typical Raman spectral fluctuations, commensurate with molecular conformational dynamics, can theoretically be resolved on micro- to millisecond timescales. The method can further extract average single-molecule dynamics from small sub-ensembles, thereby potentially mitigating challenges in achieving strictly single-molecule isolation on SERS substrates.

  PublisherDOI

• Photoluminescence Line Shapes of Nanocrystals: Contributions from First- and Second-Order Vibronic Couplings

  Open MIND · 2026-02-27

  preprint

  We present a microscopic, parameter-free approach for computing the photoluminescence spectra of a single semiconductor nanocrystal. The method derives exciton-phonon coupling directly from the semi-empirical pseudopotential framework and systematically incorporates both diagonal and off-diagonal interactions, expanded to second-order in the phonon modes. The dipole-dipole correlation function was calculated using a Dyson expansion within the Kubo-Toyozawa formalism, enabling a consistent description of the role of pure dephasing and population-transfer on the photoluminescence spectral features. Applied to CdSe/CdS core-shell nanocrystals, the approach quantitatively reproduces experimental photoluminescence spectra over a wide temperature range, revealing that quadratic phonon couplings account for nearly half of the homogeneous linewidth above 100-150 K, while off-diagonal couplings leading to exciton thermalization play only a minor role and only as T approaches 300K.

  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• Moungi G. Bawendi

  28 shared

• Iain McCulloch

  University of Oxford

  14 shared

• Jiaojian Shi

  Stanford University

  12 shared

• James R. Durrant

  Imperial College London

  11 shared

• Weiwei Sun

  Beihang University

  9 shared

• Stoichko D. Dimitrov

  9 shared

• Keith A. Nelson

  7 shared

• Ulugbek Barotov

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  7 shared