Fun with Light: Strong Photon-Photon Interactions and Meta-Materials

Google Tech Talk
July 10, 2009

ABSTRACT

Fun with Light: Strong Photon-Photon Interactions and Meta-Materials

Presented by Jung-Tsung Shen

The lightsaber is a supercool gadget that all of us would like to get one. It exhibits many novel light phenomena, notably the light blades of two lightsabers could interact with each other. Unfortunately it takes an enormous amount of energy to achieve that. One of the main difficulties of making a lightsaber is that photons normally do not interact with each other.

In the first part of the talk, I will describe how to make photons interact with each other, which enables the capability of using photons to control photons. This capability has many potential applications in quantum communication and information processing, and other novel optoelectronics devices. Moreover, the configuration is well-suited for on-chip all solid-state implementations.

In the second part of the talk, I will briefly explain what metamaterials are, and some novel optical tricks they can play, such as Harry Potter's invisibility cloak and super lens. In particular, I will discuss the mechanisms and properties of a special class of metamaterials -- metamaterials with ultra-high refractive index. Such artificial structures will be useful in many applications such as subwavelength lithography and imaging, broadband slow-light, and sensitive interferometer.

(* The talk is for general audience with no background in these fields. *)

Dr. Jung-Tsung Shen is currently a research associate at Stanford University, working on photon transport in nano-photonics, metamaterials, plasmonics, and thermal and energy transport in nano-structures. He obtained his PhD degree in physics in 2003 from MIT. He was also a graduate scholar at Bell Labs from year 1998 -2001. He will be an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis in September this year.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• google
• tech
• talk
• metamaterials
• physics

[MrRuXun]

To JJusticexp: what is quantum field "theiry"? You need more study of English.

[raininginhell]

Very cool!

[socratus1]

Quantum of Light and my Parrot # Gentlemen I have only two questions: First - Didn’t my parrot fly to you? Second - Why does everyone say that all movements are relative if the speed of quantum of light isn’t relative but it is an absolute constant in absolute Vacuum ? # You can easily find out my parrot. It studied only two sentences: ‘ there is no absolute movement ’, ‘ there is no absolute reference system ‘ # Israel Sadovnik Socratus

[Sjowmalf]

1:21 "novel light nom nom"

[jaen56]

lol you can make real lightsaber with photons

[Awykel]

There is an error in his slide on high index of refraction. Water and diamond have the same index of refraction, that is why a real diamond disappears in a glass of water.

[airwlkr3]

The cutting of an isotropic 3 dimensional meta material then proves Heisenberg's Uncertainty theory .

[airwlkr3]

However, we can create predator invisibility cloak by creating meta material of a certain refractive index.

[airwlkr3]

it is also difficult to create a meta material to replace photon because photons when excited travel in the light of speed. The difficulty in creating a meta material is due to difficulty to immitate its speed of light and ability to travel inside mediums in the same way.

[airwlkr3]

if you prepare one Nobel prize for a research, there will be competition. If you want to make a photon sabre, you have to alter the nature of photon or it will not work because photon-photon reaction is hard to create. There is a physical restriction to this possibility

[maciejwrotek]

@JJStupidify light particle

[sadant1]

Interesting but too poor production. It ruined everything :(