About the project
An exceptional point is a singularity point in the energy bands of non-Hermitian systems, which possesses exponential sensitivity to external perturbations. Such exceptional points appear in open quantum optical systems such as nanocavities, nanomechanical resonators, and quantum interferometers. This project aims to build exceptional points in quantum optical systems and use them for sensing applications.
This project will start with the design of nanocavities or metamaterials to achieve exceptional points in the non-Hermitian energy bands, which will be characterized with the sensitive response to external parameters, e.g., light stimulation, electric/magnetic field change, refractive index change, and thermal fluctuations.
In the second year, this project will proceed to incorporate high-quality-factor cavities to increase the photon lifetime and explore the possibility of achieving sensitivity at quantum level. Such cavities will be achieved by building the bound state in the continuum (BIC) using photonic crystals design, and the signal to noise ratio around the lasing threshold will be studied.
In the third year, this project will be devoted to exploring the limit of sensitivity enabled by the exceptional points. Experiments will be designed to test the exact sensitivity of the nanocavity or metamaterial.
In the first year, you will gain knowledge in photonic crystals/metamaterials design, optical simulation techniques, and general non-Hermitian physics. In the second year, you will gain knowledge in quantum noise theory and topological singularity physics. In the third year, you will gain optical lab experience.
