Ultra-Small Open Access Microcavities for Enhancement of the Light-Matter Interaction

Philip Dolan

Centre for Micro-Photonics, Swinburne University of Technology

3:30 pm Friday, 23 November 2012, EN313 Lecture Theatre (EN Building), Hawthorn.

Optical microcavities have many potential uses. As well as playing a pivotal role in the further integration of optical or photonic processes in information and communication technologies their fundamental nature means they have several tantalising applications. These applications will be discussed, along with an introduction to the quantum mechanical description of how microcavities achieve such benefits. The current state of the art will then be presented, covering a small section of the myriad of approaches being developed. Finally the main results of the thesis will be outlined, including the room temperature enhancement of emission rates of semiconductor quantum dots and the development of a cryogenic system to investigate enhancement of emission of defects in diamond.

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