Tunable pulse-shapers for the exploration of dynamic photon-photon interactions

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The requested equipment supports the growth of a the new Quantum Nanophotonics Lab at Queen's University. Our goal is to build quantum nonlinear optical effects photon-by-photon. To do so, we develop novel nanophotonic systems that enable us to perform challenging quantum optical measurements, advancing scientific knowledge of fundamental quantum light-matter interactions and opening pathways to efficient all-optical control of quantum photonic states. Our research is at the forefront of a rapidly growing international quantum community and the requested equipment is crucial to maintaining this pole position and ensuring the success of the diverse group of scientists that work therein. We request funds for two arbitrary pulse generators capable of turning our continuous lasers into sources of widely tunable pulses whose widths can span three-orders of magnitude. Having two such independent pulse sources enables multi-photon experiments with independent tuning of the different photons, shining a light on largely unexplored dynamics of few-photon quantum nonlinearities mediated via individual quantum emitters; the ability to shape each pulse, in turn, confers the ability to shape the dynamics, manipulating and enhancing giant photon-photon interactions that are simply not possible with other platforms. This first-of-its-kind laser system at Queen's is not only integral to our research, but will facilitate collaborative research and development projects within the University and across Canada. Though young, our research program has already trained a diverse and successful set of young scientists. In the past 2 years, since its establishment at Queen's, our group has trained over 20 HQP across all levels; all have gone on to either higher level academic positions, including one tenured position in France, or to high-impact positions in industry. Over half of the graduate or post-graduate HQP have been women or from other under-represented groups, a testament to our active commitment to an inclusive environment. The timely acquisition of the applied-for arbitrary pulsed generators is critical to their training in a highly in-demand skill-set -the operation of quantum photonic equipment, advanced nanophotonic design and characterization, and deep knowledge of quantum theory - and therefore to their future success in academia or the growing Canadian quantum technology ecosystem.