Nano and Micro Photonics

This course will cover the physics of nano/micro photonic structures and their applications ranging from fundamental experiments to technology. This course is intended for graduate students pursuing research in photonics and condensed matter physics and will cover theoretical as well as experimental aspects. Topics to be covered include:Brief introduction of quantum mechanical and electromagnetic waves.Localization of electromagnetic radiation using photonic structures such as photonic crystals, microcavities, etc.Guiding of light – Planar waveguides, photonic bandgap fibers, photonic bandgap defect waveguides, etc.Quantum confinement (Quantum wells, wires and dots)Generation and detection of light in semiconductors (physical mechanism, semiconductor lasers and detectors)Structures incorporating both quantum and electromagnetic wave confinement and its implications. (strong and weak coupling in nano/micro-cavity structures, novel nonlinear optical effects)Nano and Microfabrication techniques.Photonic integrated circuitsApplication areas (quantum computing, cryptography, chem.-biosensing, nonlinear optical devices, telecommunication, etc.)In each topic, the basic physics, simulation schemes for design of photonic structures, fabrication techniques and characterization tools will be discussed.

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