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Light-Matter Interaction in Quantum Structures
The main goal of this course is to cover the physics of light-matter interaction in the context of quantum devices, and materials at the nanoscale. This UE features both theoretical aspects in lectures and tutorials - possibly based on the analysis and discussion of recent research papers - and experimental projects (12h) on research grade experiments at the end of the semester.
Typical experimental projects comprise (i) a nanofabrication stage in one of the clean rooms of the Paris center cluster (including a general introduction to nanofabrication techniques) and (ii) optical measurements guided by a researcher in one of the associated labs.
The lectures will cover a general introduction on the basics of light-matter interaction in the semi-classical and quantum approach.
Syllabus
The body of the lectures will consist of three main parts :
- Properties arising from free electrons in both the bulk and quantum confined regimes, including plasmonics and its applications for photo-detection and optical information processing, photonic quantum devices, cooperative enhancement of the light-matter interaction.
- Properties arising from interband transitions in natural and artificial nanostructures of semi-conductors : excitons, correlations effects, light absorption, light emission, introduction to spectroscopic techniques ; strategies to enhance light-matter interaction at the single quantum particle level. Applications.
- Ultrafast phenomena in nanostructures : introduction to nonlinear optics and ultrafast spectroscopy (femto/picosecond) : pump-probe, four-wave-mixing, photon-echo experiments.
Prerequisites
Evaluation
Experimental project (30%) and/30-minutes oral examination (70%)