MSE Seminar: Novel nanophotonic interfaces to quantum systems: Material challenges and opportunities
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
12:00 p.m.
2110 CHE (and via Zoom)
For More Information:
Sherri Tatum
statum12@umd.edu
https://mse.umd.edu/seminar-series

Speaker: Amit Agrawal, IREAP Associate Research Scientist & NIST Project Leader

Title: Novel nanophotonic interfaces to quantum systems: Material challenges and opportunities 

Abstract:

Over the last decade, flat optical elements composed of an array of deep-subwavelength dielectric or metallic nanostructures of nanoscale thicknesses – referred to as metasurfaces – have revolutionized the field of optics. Because of their ability to impart an arbitrary phase, polarization or amplitude modulation to an optical wavefront as well as perform multiple optical transformations simultaneously on the incoming light, they promise to replace traditional bulk optics in applications requiring compactness, integration and/or multiplexing. Recent demonstrations including imaging, polarimetry, quantum-light generation and LIDAR demonstrate the range of technologies where metasurfaces have already had a significant impact. In this talk, we first demonstrate the versatility of metasurfaces as a compact, efficient and multifunctional interface to trap atoms for application in quantum information science and atomic clocks. In another integration step, combining metasurfaces with integrated photonic circuits promises increased complexity and functionality in a batch-fabricated optical microsystem. Finally, we will discuss material and photonic-loss challenges that must be overcome for successful realization of a fully integrated quantum system based on cold atoms or solid-state qubits.

Biography:

Amit Agrawal is a project leader at NIST in Gaithersburg, MD, and an Associate Research Scientist at the IREAP of the University of Maryland, College Park. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Utah in 2008, followed by a Postdoc at NIST/UMD. He then joined the faculty of Syracuse University in 2011, as the John E. and Patricia Breyer Professor of Electrical Engineering. He has been back at NIST/UMD since 2014, where his group is developing novel nanophotonic devices, operating from the near-infrared to deep-ultraviolet frequencies, for providing arbitrary control over the linear and nonlinear properties of light in space and in time. His current work is focused on developing functional integrated nanophotonic systems for applications ranging from imaging to quantum-optics.

This Event is For: Campus