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

利用被称为光学微腔的微观结构，光可以被紧密地限制在非常小的空间中。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性质发生变化。对这种系统的研究称为腔量子电动力学(CQED)。*我们的研究是在固态CQED上进行的，在固态CQED中，我们的微腔由固体材料和量子点组成，这些系统由数万个原子组成，仍然扮演着原始原子的角色。固态CQED非常令人兴奋，因为它出现了新的现象，使其有别于经典的基于原子的CQED，还因为它掌握了更好的基于光的技术的关键：更好、更快的激光、更快的光学开关、更灵敏的传感器，甚至还有量子信息处理器等。**我们将使用光学光谱学和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，以更深入地探索固态CQED的前沿。我们将探索的一些想法是：**(1)实现一个包含多个可单独控制的量子点的微腔，一个潜在的量子信息处理器。**(2)找出微腔机械振动对量子点发光的影响。**(3)了解和定制腔内光、量子点和机械振动之间的相互作用。**我们的研究计划有助于研究生和博士后的培养。在努力实现这些目标的同时，这些正在接受培训的年轻研究人员将获得工业界和学术界雇主高度需要的专业知识。

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.**