Cavity optomechanical device
We are interested in the physics and engineering of nanophotonic devices in the context of quantum information science, metrology, communications, and sensing. We use nanofabrication technology to develop engineered geometries that strongly enhance light-matter interactions, such as parametric nonlinear optical processes, coupling to quantum emitters, and acousto-optic effects. We study the basic device-level physics and tailor devices for specific applications, and our research generally involves computational modeling, nanofabrication, and optoelectronic and quantum photonic characterization. Recent topics have included quantum frequency conversion, single-photon and entangled-photon generation, microresonator frequency combs, optical parametric oscillators, and cavity electro-optomechanical transducers.
More generally, nanophotonic systems offer us the ability to study interesting physics in a controllable way, using platforms that are inherently suitable for the development of new technologies. Our labs are at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD, and the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland in College Park.
Two Light-Trapping Techniques Combine for the Best of Both Worlds
Taming rays of light and bending them to your will is tricky business. Light travels fast and getting a good chunk of it to stay in one place for a long time requires a lot of skillful coaxing. But the benefits of learning how to hold a moonbeam (or, more likely, a laser beam) in your hand, or on a convenient chip, are enormous. Trapping and controlling light on a chip can enable better lasers, sensors that help self-driving cars “see,” the creation of quantum-entangled pairs of photons that can be used for secure communication, and fundamental studies of the basic interactions between light and atoms—just to name a few.
New article on integrated buried heaters for controlling microcombs
We demonstrate a new approach to efficient thermo-optic spectral tuning of air-clad microresonators.
Half-integer optical angular momentum and mode orientation control in photonic crystal microrings
We demonstrate how control of a photonic crystal patterning applied to a microring resonator can lead to novel states of light.
Christy Li
Christy Li is a high school student from Montgomery Blair High School working on Maxwell's equations and wave equation numerical solvers for integrated photonics. She is currently working on different ways to retrieve the characteristics of the modes of a micro-resonator accurately, which finds application in integrated frequency comb design. Alongside simulations, she also works on measuring microring resonators.
Michal Chojnacky
Michal Chojnacky is a physicist in the Thermodynamic Metrology Group. Her work at NIST helps companies and other laboratories measure temperature accurately to regulate manufacturing processes and public utilities, keep products safe, and advance research and development in fields like aerospace, pharmaceuticals, and metrology. Michal leads NIST research on the storage and handling of vaccines, which are highly temperature-sensitive products.
Infrared optical parametric oscillation using a photonic crystal microring
We demonstrate a chip-integrated optical parametric oscillator in the 2 um wavelength band, through use of a photonic crystal microring resonator.
New approach to integrated microresonator optical parametric oscillation
We report on a new approach to integrated microresonator optical parametric oscillation that utilizes optical modes from multiple transverse spatial mode families. This 'hybrid mode' approach overcomes many challenges associated with other modal configurations, include improved robustness to dimensional variation and suppression of potential competing nonlinear optical processes.
New article on transfer printing process for integrated quantum photonics
In a recent paper in Materials for Quantum Technology, we report a fabrication approach for transfer printing of thin layers of one material onto a dissimilar substrate, using a thermal release tape process. We specifically apply this process to create quantum photonic devices based on single InAs quantum dots in GaAs membranes that are transferred onto a Si substrate with metallic and dielectric layers. This work was led by our colleagues Luca Sapienza and Cori Haws from the University of Glasgow.
Krishna Coimbatore Balram
Research Areas:
- Integrated photonics design/fab/test
- Integrated quantum photonics
- Nanoscale electro-optomechanical transducers
Where are they now?:
Krishna was a NIST/UMD Postdoctoral Researcher working in the NIST labs on piezo-optomechanical devices that coherently couple microwaves and optical waves via acoustics. He is now Associate Professor of Photonic Engineering at the University of Bristol.