Nonlinear Nanophotonics for Photonic Computing
Much like electrons drive electrons in electronic circuits, photonic circuits use nonlinear media to mix photons. At the nanoscale, these effects lay the foundation of all-optical computing that offers energy efficiency and bandwidth orders of magnitude beyond those in microelectronics. At SNL, we develop new nonlinear materials based on resonant nanostructures that boost photon-photon interactions, including in free-standing architectures, and pave the way to large-scale all-optical data processing.
Quantum Photonics
Quantum information and quantum computing are hailed as the next technological revolution, enabling outstanding computational performance and data security. Qubit architectures are diverse; light-based quantum states promise a clear path to scalability and a small and low-power footprint. At SNL, we explore new ways to process quantum information at the nanoscale utilizing single photons and their parameters (polarization, space-time spectrum), including quantum light in time-variant resonators and enhanced quantum state generation in nanoresonators.
Probing Quantum Matter
Light is one of the most versatile tools we use to learn new things about nature. Some of the processes in the quantum matter happen on femto- and attosecond scales and strong electromagnetic fields. We use powerful laser tools and methods such as pump-probe spectroscopy and single-shot high harmonic generation to probe the atomic processes in novel optoelectronic materials (semiconductor nanostructures, 2D materials, resonators).
Reconfigurable Devices
Nanofabrication enables ultrathin photonic elements unprecedented freedom to control the flow of light. Most of these devices are static (= unchangeable) after fabrication. By adding tuning agents—liquid crystals, thermo-optic materials, semiconductors, and thermo-mechanical processing—we make these devices tunable and expand their use cases. In particular, we are interested in applying dynamic and highly reconfigurable tools to imaging, bio-, and medical applications.
Time-varying Materials and Devices
A separate new exciting class of reconfigurable media is time-varying materials. Light frequency is not a conserved quantity in time-varying media and can be changed almost on demand. We used this fundamental property of light to demonstrate the first photon acceleration on a chip, frequency conversion on the nanoscale, and routes to overcome a fundamental time-bandwidth limit in photonics.