Nonlinear and Quantum Optics of Nanostructures

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My group is working to theoretically and computationally investigate the nonlinear and quantum behaviour of electrons and photons in semiconductor nanostructures on very short time scales.  Semiconductor nanostructures are semiconductors that are structured on length scales ranging from one to 500 billionths of a metre.  The small size of these structures strongly affects the behaviour of both electrons and photons in the system. The confinement of the electrons results in quantum mechanical effects similar to those that cause energy-level quantization in an atom. In addition, the reflections of the photons at interfaces in a particular type of nanostructure called a photonic crystal can trap the photons, resulting in large changes in the interactions between photons and electrons in the structure.  Due to the combination of electron and photon confinement, the optical and electrical properties of nanostructures are very different than those of the constituent materials.  The careful design and exploitation of confinement-induced effects in nanostructures can produce systems that can be used in a wide variety of applications and devices. My proposal tackles the following two subfields of this large research area: ***I) The linear and nonlinear terahertz response of semiconductor nanostructures:  The goal in this part of my research is to develop accurate and efficient models of the response of semiconductor nanostructures to terahertz (THz) radiation, which is a form of electromagnetic radiation with frequencies between the visible and microwave. As part of this research, we will examine the use of semiconductor superlattices as THz amplifiers. We will also model the nonlinear THz response of monolayer and bilayer graphene, which are exciting new two-dimensional carbon materials that are predicted to be highly nonlinear. This nonlinearity can be used to produce higher-frequency sources or ultrafast THz switches. Altogether, my work in this area will aid in the development of higher power, wider bandwidth THz sources.***II) Nonlinear and quantum optics in photonic crystal coupled-cavity systems:   The aim of this work is to develop theoretical treatments of the dynamics of light in coupled cavities in photonic crystal slabs.  Part of this work will be to model the generation of optical photon pairs in these systems using a nonlinear process know as spontaneous four wave mixing. Such systems show promise as integrated single-photons sources for use in quantum information systems. The second part of the work is to use THz photonic crystals to enhance the interaction of terahertz fields with graphene to enable a more sensitive measurement of the nonlinear response.***The graduate and undergraduate students working on this research will learn the latest theoretical and computational methods in optics and nanoscience and will be well-positioned to pursue careers in optoelectronics and nanotechnology.**