Fundamentals and applications of confined light interacting with nano-scale matter

光可以被紧紧地限制在非常小的空间使用微观结构称为光学微腔。当量子系统（如原子）位于微腔内时，它与受限光的相互作用会导致其发光特性发生变化。对这类系统的研究被称为腔量子电动力学（CQED）。我们的研究是在固态CQED中，我们的微腔是由固体材料和量子点组成的，量子点是由成千上万的原子组成的系统，它们仍然表现为“人造原子”，扮演原始原子的角色。固态CQED非常令人兴奋，因为新现象的出现使其与经典的基于原子的CQED区分开来，并且因为它拥有更好的基于光的技术的关键：更好更快的激光器，更快的光开关，更灵敏的传感器，甚至量子信息处理器等等。我们将使用光谱学与扫描锥形光纤的组合，这将为我们提供非常高的空间和光谱分辨率，探索固态CQED的前沿。我们将探索的一些想法是：（1）实现一个微腔的几个量子点，可以单独控制，一个潜在的量子信息处理器。(2)研究微腔机械振动对量子点发光的影响。(3)理解和定制腔内光、量子点和机械振动之间的相互作用。我们的研究项目有助于培养研究生和博士后。在努力实现这些目标的同时，这些年轻的研究人员将获得工业和学术雇主高度需求的专业知识。

Light can be tightly confined into very small spaces using microscopic structures called optical microcavities. When a quantum system (such as an atom) is located inside a microcavity, its interaction with the confined light causes its light-emitting properties to change. The study of this kind of system is known as Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics (CQED). Our research is in solid-state CQED, where our microcavities are made of solid materials and quantum dots, systems composed of tens of thousands of atoms that still behave as "artificial atoms", play the part of the original atoms. Solid-state CQED is very exciting because new phenomena emerge that differentiate it from classic atom-based CQED, and because it holds the key to better light-based technology: better and faster lasers, faster optical switches, more sensitive sensors, and even quantum information processors among others.We will use a combination of optical spectroscopy with scanning tapered optical fibres, which will give us very high spatial and spectral resolution, to probe deeper into the frontiers of solid-state CQED. Some of the ideas we will explore are:(1) Implementing a microcavity with several quantum dots which can be individually controlled, a potential quantum information processor.(2) Finding out the effects of the microcavity mechanical vibrations on the light emission from the quantum dots.(3) Understanding and tailoring the interplay between the light inside the cavity, the quantum dots, and the mechanical vibrations.Our research program contributes to the training of graduate students and postdocs. While working on achieving these goals, these young researchers in training will acquire specialized knowledge that is in high demand by industrial and academic employers.