Nonlinear optics forms a critical foundation for modern optical science and photonic technology. Strong nonlinear optical effects at the single photon level represent the ultimate efficiency of nonlinear optics, which underlies crucially many important photonic functionalities such as optical transistor, photonic logic, energy-efficient photonic computing, high-efficiency single-photon conversion and detection, to name some. The objective of the proposed research project is to explore and develop transformative approaches that potentially offer unprecedented strength of optical nonlinearities down to single photon level, significantly beyond current state of the art. By engineering micro/nano-photonic structures to produce intriguing mechanisms to enhance the nonlinear wave interactions, the PI's group aim to open up a transformative research avenue towards single photon nonlinear nanophotonics that is of immense importance for broad applications in nonlinear optics, quantum photonics, communication, computing, and photonic information processing in general. Fundamental research findings and device innovations will be disseminated to the broader research communities through published papers; the research outcomes will be also incorporated into the courses offered by the PI at the University of Rochester. The proposed research would result in training graduate students and undergraduate students in the diverse interdisciplinary areas of nanophotonics, nonlinear optics, quantum photonics, and photonic signal processing. Through the outreach programs, this project will also help promote the interests and participations of K-12 students, and broaden the participations from underrepresented groups.
proposed research aims to explore and develop transformative approaches to tackle the current grand challenge in realizing strong optical nonlinear effects at the single photon and few photon level that are able to operate at room temperature, at ambient environment, and over broad spectral band. The proposed research will leverage novel intriguing light-matter interaction mechanisms inside engineered micro/nano-photonic devices that are able to significantly enhance nonlinear wave interactions. With strong expertise in both the physics and engineering of nanophotonic devices, the PI's group plan to carry out explorative research within the three-year effort, to study the fundamental physics underlying such strong single-photon and few-photon nonlinear effects, to develop novel nanophotonic device structures for strong nonlinear wave interactions, to explore the potential ultimate efficiency limit of nonlinear optical processes, to develop applications based upon these extremely strong optical nonlinearities.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
