This CAREER award focuses on the development of a new class of photonic devices based on monolithic integration of semiconductor lasers with resonant optical nonlinearities. Semiconductor nanostructures are unique quantum systems whose optical transitions can be engineered to exhibit giant nonlinearities and desired optical response to incident light. A plethora of nonlinear and quantum optical phenomena has been predicted and observed in such artificial "atoms".
Intellectual Merit: The proposed research adds a key innovative aspect: monolithic integration with injection lasers. It transforms such nanostructures into the injection-pumped active nonlinear devices that combine the versatility of nonlinear optical systems with unmatched efficiency and compactness of injection lasers. They will enable unique functionalities including operation at previously underserved wavelengths, wide tunability, femtosecond pulse operation, and generation of quantum entangled light.
Broader Impact: The proposed sources will be at the heart of many emerging technologies ranging from trace gas spectroscopy and remote sensing to infrared imaging, free-space communications and quantum cryptography. The educational plan will enhance research and education opportunities in modern science and technology at TAMU and in the local community, especially including underrepresented groups from rural areas of Texas. A series of three cross-disciplinary graduate courses "The Physics of Information" on physical principles of storage, processing, and transmission of information will be developed. A broad array of activities is designed to improve the quality of science and technology instruction for undergraduate, middle- and high-school students, and to select and mentor students who are willing and able to pursue careers in science.
