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.
Marcelo Wu
Marcelo Wu was a postdoctoral scholar working on the development of microwave-to-optical quantum transducers using piezoelectric optomechanical systems. He now works at Anyon Systems, a quantum computing company in Canada.
Anshuman Singh
Research Areas:
- Integrated photonics design/fab/test
- Integrated quantum photonics
Where are they now?:
Anshuman was a NIST/UMD Postdoctoral Researcher working in the NIST labs on single quantum dot nanophotonic devices and the quantum frequency conversion of their emitted single photons using nanophotonics. He is now a scientist at Raytheon BBN Technologies
Luca Sapienza
Research Areas:
- Integrated photonics design/fab/test
- Integrated quantum photonics
Where are they now?:
Luca was a NIST/UMD Postdoctoral Researcher working in our NIST lab on developing a photoluminescence imaging technique to enable fabrication of high-performance quantum dot single-photon sources. Luca is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southampton. We collaborate with Luca on single quantum dot devices.
Matthew Rakher
Research Areas:
- Integrated photonics design/fab/test
- Integrated quantum photonics
Where are they now?:
Matt was a NIST Postdoctoral Researcher working on quantum frequency conversion and amplitude modulation of single photon sources. He is now a Senior Research Scientist at HRL Laboratories, where he works on quantum computing.
Yuxiang Liu
Research Areas:
- Integrated photonics design/fab/test
- Nanoscale electro-optomechanical transducers
Where are they now?:
Yuxiang was a NIST American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) postdoctoral fellow working on cavity optomechanical force sensors and wavelength converters. He is now an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Jin Liu
Research Areas:
- Integrated photonics design/fab/test
- Integrated quantum photonics
Where are they now?:
Jin was a NIST/UMD Postdoctoral Research working in the NIST lab on quantum dot single-photon sources based on micropillars and circular Bragg gratings, improved versions of imaging-based techniques for quantum dot location, and the role of nanofabrication on quantum dot behavior. He is now a Professor at Sun-Yat Sen University and a collaborator on single quantum dot devices.
Qing Li
Research Areas:
- Integrated photonics design/fab/test
- Integrated quantum photonics
- Nonlinear nanophotonics
Where are they now?:
Qing was a NIST/UMD Postdoctoral Researcher working in the NIST labs on quantum frequency conversion of single photons and octave-spanning frequency comb generation in silicon nitride microresonators. He is now an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.
Karen Grutter
Research Areas:
- Integrated photonics design/fab/test
- Nanoscale electro-optomechanical transducers
Where are they now?:
Karen was a National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Scholar at NIST working on novel cavity optomechanical and electro-optomechanical devices. She is now a Research Scientist at the Laboratory for Physical Science (LPS) in College Park, MD.
Marcelo Davanco
Research Areas:
- Integrated photonics design/fab/test
- Integrated quantum photonics
- Nanoscale electro-optomechanical transducers
- Nonlinear nanophotonics
Where are they now?:
Serkan Ates
Research Areas:
- Integrated photonics design/fab/test
- Integrated quantum photonics
Where are they now?:
Serkan was a NIST/UMD Postdoctoral Researcher working in the NIST lab on bright quantum dot single-photon sources and quantum frequency conversion and temporal manipulation of single photons. He is now an Associate Professor at the Izmir Institute of Technology.