Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Quantum Optics and Information

This area emphasizes core concepts of quantum mechanics currently being exploited for the design and fabrication of state-of-the-art electrical, optical and mechanical technology relevant to a number of new applications, such as quantum information. In addition, Moore's law for exponential growth in the number of transistors in a chip is nearing an end and the feature size in many parts of the devices approach the level where quantum effects become important. This means that the devices will likely no longer work in their standard manner and new ideas will need to emerge to continue to allow the continued growth of information processes. Also, new demands for light sources for communications and sensors for detections are pushing boundaries of quantum behavior. Research in this area includes things like slow light for information storage, electromagnetically-induced transparency for advanced upconversion lasers, spectroscopy of advanced nano-materials for technology, nanophotonics, and medicine, and quantum computing based on semiconductor quantum dots. There are many groups involved in this area centralized in the Optics and Photonics Laboratory with strong connections to the Physics Department, the Applied Physics Program, Materials Science, and Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences.
Rand, Stephen
Steel, Duncan

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Related Labs, Centers, and Groups
Center for Photonic and Multiscale Nanomaterials
Center for Ultrafast Optical Science
Optics and Photonics Laboratory