PRI Distinguished Seminar Series on 19 Jan 2024 (Fri): Ultra-high-Q microcavity optics and photonics

_^Topic

Ultra-high-Q microcavity optics and photonics

_^Abstract

Confinement and manipulation of photons using microcavities have triggered intense research interest in both fundamental and applied photonics for more than two decades. Prominent examples are ultrahigh-Q whispering gallery microcavities which confine photons by means of continuous total internal reflection along a curved and smooth surface. The long photon lifetime, strong field confinement, and in-plane emission characteristics make them promising candidates for enhancing light-matter interactions on a chip. In the first part of this talk, Prof. Xiao will introduce some representative photonics applications of ultrahigh-Q microcavities. In the second part, Prof. Xiao will introduce the second-order & third-order nonlinear optical processes enhanced by microcavity resonances. Finally, Prof. Xiao will discuss spontaneous symmetry breaking in a single microcavity.

_^Biography

Prof. Xiao is a Boya Distinguished Professor at Peking University, and has made seminal contributions to the physics and applications of optical microcavities. As a principal investigator since 2009, he has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed papers in top international journals including Science, Nature Photonics, PNAS, Physical Review Letters and Advanced Materials, with over 10,000 citations so far. His works have been selected as “Top Ten Breakthroughs in Optics in China” for five times.