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.
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.
Imad Agha
Research Areas:
- Integrated photonics design/fab/test
- Integrated quantum photonics
- Nonlinear nanophotonics
Where are they now?:
Imad was a NIST/UMD Postdoctoral Researcher working in the NIST lab on quantum frequency conversion of single photons, four-wave-mixing in silicon nitride waveguides, and spectro-temporal manipulation of single photon wavepackets. He is now an Associate Professor of Physics and Electro-Optics at the University of Dayton.
Integrated photonics design, fabrication, and characterization tools
Integrated photonics provides access to a wide range of geometries and materials systems in which light-matter interactions can be harnessed to realize physically useful functions for applications in areas such as quantum information science, metrology, and sensing. At its core, such device-level development involves design and numerical simulation, nanofabrication, and optical characterization. Independent of the application space, our projects tend to have some common ingredients that are briefly summarized here.
Nanoscale electro-optomechanical transducers
Recent developments in the field of cavity optomechanics have resulted in devices for which GHz frequency phonons and 200 THz frequency optical photons are spatially co-located to the same length scale, often times in the context of structures that simultaneously take advantage of photonic and phononic bandgap concepts. Taken together with the strong photoelastic properties (i.e., the coupling of strain to refractive index) of materials like GaAs, this results in very large optomechanical coupling rates, so that even the phonon's zero-point motion can appreciably shift the frequency o