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    Emerging Quantum Pheneomena in Nonlinear Nanophotonics: Toward New Regimes of Light-Matter Interactions

    Date:
    12
    Sunday
    January
    2025
    Colloquium
    Time: 11:15-12:30
    Location: Physics Library
    Lecturer: Dr. Eran Lustig
    Organizer: Department of Physics of Complex Systems
    Contact: eti.shalem@weizmann.ac.il
    Abstract: Nanophotonics is at the forefront of research and development in scalable quantu ... Read more Nanophotonics is at the forefront of research and development in scalable quantum technologies,ranging from quantum sensing to quantum computing. Traditionally, inherently weak photon-photonand photon-atom interactions in dielectric materials pose significant challenges to fully exploiting thepotential of these platforms. However, recent advances in the fabrication of nonlinear microresonatorswith nanometric features have allowed for the enhancement of all-optical interactions,necessitating new approaches to generating, controlling, and measuring quantum light.In this seminar, I will delve into unexplored regimes at the intersection of nonlinear and quantumoptics. I will begin by showcasing our latest advancements in developing integrated microresonatorsin thin-film 4H-Silicon Carbide. This innovation enables nonlinear photonics, quantum optics, andcollective quantum emitter excitations on the same platform. Following this, I will present ourexperimental demonstration of quadrature lattices of the quantum vacuum. This work shows howpulses that spontaneously emerge in microresonators can generate lattice dynamics of the quantumvacuum and how we can exert control over these dynamics.I will then discuss the broader implications of our findings, including enhanced interactions withquantum emitters, and ultrafast nonlinear quantum nanophotonics, which enable nonlinearinteractions at the single photon level. These outcomes pave the way toward new regimes of lightmatterinteractions that are enabled on scalable photonic microchips, with transformativeimplications for fundamental physics and quantum applications.
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    Chemical and Biological Physics Guest seminar

    Date:
    07
    Wednesday
    February
    2024
    Lecture / Seminar
    Time: 15:00-16:00
    Title: The Stark effect in quantum dots: from spectral diffusion to coherent control
    Location: Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
    Lecturer: Dr. Ron Tenne
    Organizer: Department of Chemical and Biological Physics
    Contact: lucio.frydman@weizmann.ac.il
    Abstract: While colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are already an important building block in e ... Read more While colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are already an important building block in electro-optical devices, in the realm of quantum science and technology, they are often considered inferior with respect to emitters such as solid-state defects and epitaxial quantum dots. Despite their single-photon emission [1], demonstrations of quantum coherence and control are largely still lacking. The main obstacle towards these is spectral diffusion – stochastic fluctuations in the energy of photons emitted from an individual CQD even at cryogenic temperatures. In this talk, I will present our recent work providing, for the first time, direct and definitive proof that these fluctuations arise from stochastic electric fields in the particle’s nano environment [2]. However, the high sensitivity of CQDs to electric fields, through the quantum-confined Stark effect, can also be perceived as a feature, rather than a bug. I will present future concepts for coherent control of a single photon’s temporal wavefunction through an electric bias. Relying on tools from the terahertz and femtosecond-laser toolboxes [3,4], spectroscopy and control at fast-to-ultrafast (millisecond-to-femtosecond) timescales, will play a detrimental role in fulfilling the unique potential that CQDs hold in the field of quantum optics,. [1] R. Tenne, U. Rossman, B. Rephael, Y. Israel, A. Krupinski-Ptaszek, R. Lapkiewicz, Y. Silberberg, and D. Oron, Super-Resolution Enhancement by Quantum Image Scanning Microscopy, Nature Photonics 13, 116 (2019). [2] F. Conradt, V. Bezold, V. Wiechert, S. Huber, S. Mecking, A. Leitenstorfer, and R. Tenne, Electric-Field Fluctuations as the Cause of Spectral Instabilities in Colloidal Quantum Dots, Nano Lett. 23, 9753 (2023). [3] P. Henzler et al., Femtosecond Transfer and Manipulation of Persistent Hot-Trion Coherence in a Single CdSe/ZnSe Quantum Dot, Physical Review Letters 126, 067402 (2021). [4] P. Fischer, G. Fitzky, D. Bossini, A. Leitenstorfer, and R. Tenne, Quantitative Analysis of Free-Electron Dynamics in InSb by Terahertz Shockwave Spectroscopy, Physical Review B 106, 205201 (2022).
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    Chemical and Biological Physics Guest seminar

    Date:
    17
    Tuesday
    October
    2023
    Lecture / Seminar
    Time: 11:00
    Title: Strong light-matter coupling: from transition metal dichalcogenides to Casimir self-assembly
    Location: Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
    Lecturer: Prof. Timur O. Shegai
    Organizer: Department of Chemical and Biological Physics
    Contact: Gilad.haran@weizmann.ac.il
    Abstract: Strong light-matter interactions are at the core of many electromagnetic phenome ... Read more Strong light-matter interactions are at the core of many electromagnetic phenomena. In this talk, I will give an overview of several nanophotonic systems which support polaritons – hybrid light-matter states, as well as try to demonstrate their potential usefulness in applications. I will start with transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and specifically discuss one-dimensional edges in these two-dimensional materials (1-2). I will show that TMDs can be etched along certain crystallographic axes, such that the obtained edges are nearly atomically sharp and exclusively zigzag-terminated, while still supporting polaritonic regime. Furthermore, I will show that Fabry-Pérot resonators, one of the most important workhorses of nanophotonics, can spontaneously form in an aqueous solution of gold nanoflakes (3-4). This effect is possible due to the balance between attractive Casimir-Lifshitz forces and repulsive electrostatic forces acting between the flakes. There is a hope that this technology is going to be useful for future developments in self-assembly, nanomachinery, polaritonic devices, and perhaps other disciplines. References: 1) Nat. Commun., 11, 4604, (2020) 2) Laser & Photonics Rev., 17, 2200057, (2023) 3) Nature 597, 214-219, (2021) 4) Nat. Phys. 19, 271-278, (2023)
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    Ultrafast, Nonlinear and Quantum Optics

    Date:
    29
    Monday
    May
    2023
    -
    31
    Wednesday
    May
    2023
    Conference
    Time: 08:00
    Location: The David Lopatie Conference Centre
    Organizer: Crown Photonics Center
    Contact: talia.tzahor@weizmann.ac.il
    Ultrafast, Nonlinear and Quantum Optics Conference website

    "Molecules in a Quantum-Optical Flask"

    Date:
    25
    Wednesday
    January
    2023
    Lecture / Seminar
    Time: 11:00-12:00
    Location: Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
    Lecturer: Dr. Tal Schwartz
    Organizer: Department of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science
    Contact: ana.naamat@weizmann.ac.il
    Abstract: "Molecules in a Quantum-Optical Flask" When confined to small dimensions, the ... Read more "Molecules in a Quantum-Optical Flask" When confined to small dimensions, the interaction between light and matter can be enhanced up to the point where it overcomes all the incoherent, dissipative processes. In this "strong coupling" regime the photons and the material start to behave as a single entity, having its own quantum states and energy levels. In this talk I will discuss how such cavity-QED effects can be used in order to control material properties and molecular processes. This includes, for example, modifying photochemical reactions [1], enhancing excitonic transport up to ballistic motion close to the light-speed [2-3] and potentially tailoring the mesoscopic properties of organic crystals, by hybridizing intermolecular vibrations with electromagnetic THz fields [4-5]. 1. J. A. Hutchison, T. Schwartz, C. Genet, E. Devaux, and T. W. Ebbesen, "Modifying Chemical Landscapes by Coupling to Vacuum Fields," Angew. Chemie Int. Ed. 51, 1592 (2012). 2. G. G. Rozenman, K. Akulov, A. Golombek, and T. Schwartz, "Long-Range Transport of Organic Exciton-Polaritons Revealed by Ultrafast Microscopy," ACS Photonics 5, 105 (2018). 3. M. Balasubrahmaniyam, A. Simkovich, A. Golombek, G. Ankonina, and T. Schwartz, "Unveiling the mixed nature of polaritonic transport: From enhanced diffusion to ballistic motion approaching the speed of light," arXiv:2205.06683 (2022). 4. R. Damari, O. Weinberg, D. Krotkov, N. Demina, K. Akulov, A. Golombek, T. Schwartz, and S. Fleischer, "Strong coupling of collective intermolecular vibrations in organic materials at terahertz frequencies," Nat. Commun. 10, 3248 (2019). 5. M. Kaeek, R. Damari, M. Roth, S. Fleischer, and T. Schwartz, "Strong Coupling in a Self-Coupled Terahertz Photonic Crystal," ACS Photonics 8, 1881 (2021).
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