Nanophotonic structures provide an ideal system to study the quantum mechanical properties of light and semiconductor materials. Among such structures is the quantum dot, which is a small nanocrystal embedded in a host material. Such structures behave as artificial atoms in the sense that they have discrete energy levels and emit light in single quanta. The coupling of these nanostructures to other devices such as photonic crystals provides an ideal system for implementing quantum computation and quantum networking. Such devices also have the potential to provide compact integrated opto-electronic systems on a chip for optical communication, sensing, and nonlinear optics.

Undergraduate research projects will involve a mix of numerical simulation on photonic crystal structures and experimental research in characterization of quantum dot-based devices. The following is a list of potential undergraduate research projects:

• Simulation and experimental characterization of photonic crystal microcavities, waveguides, and integrated optical devices.
• Measurement of quantum dot emission rate enhancement, as well as dipole-induced cavity transmission modification.
• Coupling colloidal state quantum dots to photonic crystal cavities using electroosmotic feedback for sensing.

Additional information about the Nanophotonics and Quantum Information research group can be found at http://www.ireap.umd.edu/NanoPhotonics/ and by contacting Professor Waks at (301) 405-5022 or edowaks@umd.edu.