Regensburg 2000 – scientific programme

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HL: Halbleiterphysik

HL 2: Symposium: Photonische Kristalle

HL 2.3: Fachvortrag

Monday, March 27, 2000, 11:30–12:00, H17

PHOTONIC BAND GAP MATERIALS: A NEW FRONTIER IN QUANTUM and NONLINEAR OPTICS — •Sajeev John — Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Unlike semiconductors which facilitate the coherent propagation of electrons, photonic band gap (PBG) materials execute their novel functions through the coherent localization of photons. Light localization provides a basis for the creation of integrated all-optical microchips. When a PBG material is doped with impurity atoms which have an electronic transition that lies within the gap, spontaneous emission of light from the atom is inhibited. Instead, the photon forms a bound state to the atom. I discuss the application of doped PBG materials for microlasers and the realization of nonlinear optical effects which occur at a much lower threshold than in ordinary vacuum. I describe the design of an all optical transistor based on collective switching of two-level atoms near a photonic band edge, by external laser field, from a passive state to one exhibiting population inversion. Finally, I discuss the prospects for coherent control of radiative dynamics and a single atom quantum memory device, which may perform quantum logic operations.