• Technical Conference:  05 – 10 May 2024
  • The CLEO Hub: 07 – 09 May 2024

SC403 - NanoCavity Quantum Electrodynamics and Applications

Tuesday, 07 May
10:30 - 14:30

Short Course Level: Beginner

Instructor:

Jelena Vuckovic, Stanford University, USA

Short Course Description:

Strong localization of light in nanophotonic structures leads to enhanced light-matter interaction, which can be employed in a variety of applications, ranging from improved (higher speed, lower threshold) optoelectronic devices, to biophotonics, quantum information and low threshold nonlinear optics.

In particular, quantum dots in optical nanocavities are interesting as a test-bed for fundamental studies of such light-matter interaction (cavity quantum electrodynamics - QED), as well as an integrated platform for information processing. As a result of the strong field localization inside of sub-cubic wavelength volumes, they enable very large emitter-field interaction strengths (vacuum Rabi frequencies in the range of 10's of GHz – a few orders of magnitude larger than in atomic cavity QED). In addition to the study of new regimes of cavity QED, this can also be employed to build devices for quantum information processing, such as ultrafast quantum gates, nonclassical light sources and spin-photon interfaces. Beside quantum information systems, many classical information processing devices greatly benefit from the enhanced light matter interaction in such structures; examples include all-optical switches operating at the single photon level, electro-optic modulators controlled with sub-fJ energy and operating at GHz speed and lasers with threshold currents of 100nA.

This course will introduce cavity QED (e.g., strong and weak coupling regimes, Purcell effect, etc.), with particular emphasis on semiconductor nanocavities. We will also describe state of the art in solid state cavity QED experiments and applications. Finally, we also give a brief introduction into inverse design in photonics and how it can impact nanocavity QED experiments.

Short Course Benefits:

This course should enable the participants to:

  • Explain light matter interaction in optical nanostructures
  • Discuss state of the art in solid state cavity QED
  • Identify benefits of employing nano-cavity QED for certain applications
  • Get an introduction into inverse design in photonics and its impact on cavity QED
Short Course Audience:

Scientists and engineers interested in cavity QED and nanophotonic devices in general. Some background in electromagnetics, quantum mechanics and optoelectronics is helpful but not required.

Instructor Biography:

Jelena Vuckovic is a Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, where she leads the Nanoscale and Quantum Photonics Lab. She received her PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 2002, and joined Stanford faculty in 2003. She has received many awards including the Hans Fischer Senior Fellowship (2013), the Humboldt Prize (2010), the DARPA Young Faculty Award (2008) and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE in 2007). Vuckovic is a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) and of The Optical Society (OSA).