Quantum Nonlinear Optics: Foundation of Photonics Technology

量子非线性光学：光子学技术的基础 我们描述了一个研究计划，旨在利用非线性光学和量子光学的最新进展。量子非线性光学（QNLO）是基础物理、应用物理和工程学的交叉领域。人们可以期待重要的进展，从一个充满活力的，跨学科的研究计划，涉及QNLO。我们工作的一个方面涉及控制光脉冲通过材料系统的速度的方法的发展。这些“慢光”方法的应用包括开发用于光通信的路由器和缓冲器以及增强非线性光相互作用。作为一个具体的例子，作为该计划的一部分，我们将开发一个芯片级光谱仪，通过慢光方法，可以提供与大型实验室规模仪器相同的光谱分辨率。该光谱仪将使用纳米制造方法构建，以创建显示强烈慢光效应的光子晶体结构。 这些设备对诸如医疗诊断和检测恐怖主义威胁等应用具有巨大的影响。我们工作的另一个方面涉及量子信息科学的光学方法的发展。我们的方法是由观察到的光子的横向自由度构成了一个非常大的状态空间的动机。因此，即使是单个光子也可以携带大量的信息。这种巨大的信息容量可以在量子成像的背景下加以利用，例如，仅使用少量光子就可以提供超分辨率和完整图像的传输。另一个应用，这将是我们研究的主要目标，是开发一个量子密码系统，其中每个光子携带许多比特的信息。这种增加的信息容量可以显著增加用于量子密钥分发的系统的传输速率。

Quantum Nonlinear Optics: Foundation of Photonics Technology We describe a research program aimed at exploiting recent advances in nonlinear optics and quantum optics. The field of quantum nonlinear optics (QNLO) lies at the intersection of fundamental physics, applied physics, and engineering. One can expect important advances to result from a vigorous, interdisciplinary research program involving QNLO. One aspect of our work involves the development of methods for controlling the velocity at which light pulses travel through material systems. Applications of these "slow-light" methods include the development of routers and buffers for optical telecommunications and enhanced nonlinear optical interactions. As a specific example, as part of this program we will develop a chip-scale spectrometer that, by means of slow-light methods, can provide the same spectral resolution as that of large laboratory-scale instruments. This spectrometer will be constructed using nanofabrication methods to create photonic-crystal structures that display strong slow-light effects. Such devices have enormous implications for applications such as medical diagnostics and the detection of terrorism threats. Another aspect of our work entails the development of optical methods for quantum information science. Our approach is motivated by the observation that the transverse degree of freedom of the photon constitutes an extremely large state space. Consequently, large amounts of information can be carried even by a single photon. This large information capacity can be exploited in the context of quantum imaging, for instance to provide super-resolution and the transmission of complete images using only a small number of photons. Another application, which will be a primary goal of our research, is to develop a quantum cryptography system in which each photon carries many bits of information. This increased information capacity can increase dramatically the transmission rates of systems for quantum key distribution.