Seminars

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Prof. Jacob B Khurgin from Johns Hopkins University: "Miniature Lasers: what does and what does not matter?"

Recent years have seen an increase of interest in developing nano-scale sources of coherent radiation. Numerous schemes include novel confinement techniques such as plasmons and micro resonators as well as novel materials, such as two-dimensional transition metal di-chalcogenides have been investigated. In the process a lot of confusion has been produced by introduction into consideration of numerous parameters such as Purcell factor and the beta (fraction of spontaneous emission going into a given mode). That confusion makes comparative analysis of miniature lasers difficult.

Jacob B Khurgin : "Why do the refractive indexes of different materials differ so little and are also so difficult to change? "

For too long the functionality of optical devices and systems has been severely restricted by the very limited range of refractive indices at the disposal of designers. These limitations become especially constricting in the currently most active areas of optics – integrated photonics, photonic crystals, metamaterials and metasurfaces. A simple increase of the value of refractive index by 50% can result in disproportionally large improvement in performance (i.e.

Prof. Uri Banin from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem: "Colloidal Semiconductor Quantum Dots: From Artificial Atoms to Designer Molecules"

Colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), often regarded as artificial atoms, have reached an exceptional level of synthetic control and fundamental understanding—particularly regarding their size, composition, and surface-dependent properties.

Their tunable characteristics, scalable bottom-up synthesis, and compatibility with solution-based processing have enabled widespread applications in displays, lasers, light-emitting diodes, single-photon sources, photodetectors, and beyond.

Prof. Konstantin Bliokh from Donostia International Physics Center: "Topologically structured waves and manipulation of particles"

I will present recent theoretical and experimental results on: (i) subwavelength high-intensity vortices around ‘holes’ or ‘islands’ in 2D wave systems: from surface polaritons to ocean waves, (ii) generation of the Bessel-type vortices, displacement-field skyrmions, and polarization Möbius strips in sound and water waves, and (iii) manipulation of floating particles using topologically structured water waves.

Prof. Maria Chekhova: "Spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a liquid crystal"

Spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) is the workhorse of quantum optics and photonic quantum technologies. It is used as a source of entangled photons, single photons, and squeezed light. SPDC is a second-order nonlinear process and requires materials without centre of symmetry, like crystals. SPDC in liquids or gases has never been observed up to now.

Miri Blau, Columbia University: "Scaling Beyond 2 Mode interactions in Quantum Photonic Systems"

Superposition and entanglement are fundamental features of quantum systems. Over the years bipartite entanglement has been analyzed thoroughly and shown to be a vital resource in quantum computation and communication protocols, as is the case for the dual-mode superposition, i.e. qubits. However, extending entanglement into multiple particles, and extending the Hilbert space to higher dimensional superpositions, holds potential yet to be unfolded.

Doron Naveh: "Two-Dimensional Materials: From Synthesis to Devices and Applications"

The fast evolution of technological advancement drives materials and device research with a demand for ever-faster, energetically efficient, compact electronic devices. Two-dimensional materials are among the most promising platforms for emerging disruptive technologies. However, for several reasons that I describe in my talk the field is considered to be at its infancy in terms of industrial level of readiness. The reasons for this assesement include the materials quality, wafer-scale production of 2D materials and also device fabrication and processing.

Prof. Jeffrey D. Rimer: "New Paradigms for the Prevention of Pathological Crystallization"

An efficient method to inhibit pathological crystallization is the identification of modifiers, which are (macro)molecules that reduce the rate of crystal growth. Here, I will discuss progress in understanding nonclassical pathways of crystallization and the design of effective modifiers as treatments of three human diseases: kidney stones, malaria, and atherosclerosis. One of the primary tools used to explore crystal growth mechanisms and modifier-crystal interfacial interactions is in situ atomic force microscopy, which we have coupled with microfluidics to assess modifier efficacy.

Seminars