Shaping the Quantum World of Light: New Approaches from Nanophotonics to Quantum Technologies
Prof. Dr. Koray Aydın
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northwestern University
Quantum technologies have the potential to revolutionize the fields of information processing, communication, and sensing. At the heart of these technologies lies a fundamental challenge: understanding and controlling light–matter interactions at the atomic scale.
In this talk, I will explore how quantum light sources can be designed and developed, drawing on research conducted in our laboratory. I will specifically discuss how we control the emission properties of light using nanocrystals doped with rare-earth ions and optical metasurfaces. Our aim is to bridge fundamental quantum physics with engineering approaches to design next-generation platforms for quantum communication, sensing, and information processing.
Through the lens of a researcher striving to understand the quantum nature of light, I will share the story of how light can be shaped and engineered like a material. In 2017, he was awarded the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award.