Research Area
Quantum nanophotonics is a rapidly emerging research area which has open new avenues in quantum information and sensing technologies. Color centers in nanodiamonds have been proposed as one of the promising candidates for these technologies. Our group explore the underlying physics of these color centers, particularly the nitrogen vacancy centers. We investigate the emission dynamics of these color centers and couple them with resonant photonic structures to make them more suitable for quantum enabled technologies.
Photonic crystals are the optical analogue of atomic crystals contrived to maneuver the light transport and emission characteristics of an embedded emitter. Photonic crystals are constructed with a periodic variation of index of refraction in one, two or three dimensions on an optical wavelength scale. The periodicity of the crystal structure induces photonic gaps due to optical Bragg diffraction and leads to an acute modification of the photon density of states in the gap regime. Photonic crystals are extensively used for their wavelength-and polarization-selective optical properties that have profuse applications in low-threshold lasing, optical waveguides, switches, and filters.
Nature has diverse natural creatures and they possess multifunctional characteristics. Our group particularly interested in to elucidate the light-matter interaction with nature-inspired photonic structures. These photonic structures may consist of ordered and disordered structures depended on the refractive index variation.
- Photonic glasses Several bird feathers possess a short-range order of photonic structures made up of monodisperse spheres and responsible for their structural coloration.Here our objective is to mimic similar bio-inspired photonic structures and understand the underlie mechanism of light interaction.
- Silicon nanostructures Silicon is indisputable semiconductor material for electronics industry and its nanostructures constantly gaining interest for photonics industries.Here our aim to synthesize the silicon nanostructures using cost effective techniques and explore their optical properties for different applications perspective.
- Natural structures We are surrounded by vivid colors of nature that rely on pigment or Biophotonic structures. Understanding the surface morphology, structural organization and their optical response can provide inspiration for novel artificial photonic materials.
The two-dimensional materials have gained a lot of interest in the present science world because of its unique properties that emerges when layered to nanometer scale compared to its bulk counterpart. In the field of photonics which aims at the control of the spontaneous emission, the periodic modulation of refractive index in two directions has procured a lot of interest. These structures exhibit optical modes of the cavity that can interact with light emitters leading to the Purcell enhancement. Our group is currently working on manipulating the spontaneous emission by coupling the emitter to the optical mode of the two-dimensional photonic monolayers.