IEEE Student Chapter Seminar: "Quantum Nonlinear Optics: Nonlinear Optics Meets the Quantum World" by Dr. Robert W. Boyd
Thursday, February 25, 2016 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
CREOL Room 103
CREOL Room 103
Robert W. Boyd
ABSTRACT
This presentation first reviews the historical development of the field of nonlinear optics, starting from its inception in 1961. It then reviews some of its more recent developments, including especially how nonlinear optics has become a crucial tool for the developing field of quantum technologies. Fundamental quantum processes enabled by nonlinear optics, such as the creation of squeezed and entangled light states, are reviewed. We then illustrate these concepts by means of specific applications, such as the development of secure communication systems based on the quantum states of light. We are also interested in studying the properties of structured light fields. These structured light beams have recently been shown to possess exotic properties of their own, such as vacuum propagation velocities differing from the light velocity c for plane waves. These beams can also be tailored in such a way that they carry orbital angular momentum, which can be used to apply a torque to mechanical objects and as a carrier of information in a classical and quantum telecommunication system. Light can carry angular momentum both by means of its spin angular momentum (as manifested for example in circular polarization) and by means of its orbital angular momentum (OAM), whose origin is a helical structure of its wavefront. The orbital angular momentum of light has recently been recognized to constitute a crucial attribute for many photonic technologies, including the trapping and manipulation of small particles and for multiplexing in optical telecommunication. In this presentation we review some of the fundamental properties of OAM including its quantum features such as entanglement. We then go on to describe a secure telecommunication system in which information is encoded in OAM, and which can carry more than one bit of information per photon.
BIOGRAPHY
Robert W. Boyd was born in Buffalo, New York. He received the B.S. degree in physics from MIT and the Ph.D. degree in physics from the University of California at Berkeley. His Ph.D. thesis was supervised by Charles Townes and involves the use of nonlinear optical techniques in infrared detection for astronomy. Professor Boyd joined the faculty of the University of Rochester in 1977, and in 2001 became the M Parker Givens Professor of Optics and Professor of Physics. In 2010 he became Professor of Physics and Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Nonlinear Optics at the University of Ottawa. His research interests include studies of “slow” and “fast” light propagation, quantum imaging techniques, nonlinear optical interactions, studies of the nonlinear optical properties of materials, and the development of photonic devices including photonic biosensors. Professor Boyd has written two books, co-edited two anthologies, published over 400 research papers (˜29,000 citations, Google h-index 71), and been awarded nine patents. He is the 2009 recipient of the Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics, the 2010 recipient of a Humboldt Research Prize, and the 2016 recipient of the Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science. Prof. Boyd is a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), Optical Society of America (OSA), and SPIE. He is a past chair of the Division of Laser Science of APS and has been a member of the Board of Directors of OSA. He has also served the Chair of the Joint Council on Quantum Electronics (it is joint among APS, OSA and IEEE/LEOS). Prof. Boyd has served as a member of the Board of Editors of Physical Review Letters and of the Board of Reviewing Editors of Science Magazine.
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Juan He
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