Seminario
(AGGIORNAMENTO AULA) - Engineering Nanophotonic Materials for Imaging, Optical Computing, and Quantum Technologies
Koray Aydin - Northwestern University (Evanston, IL, USA)
Advances in nanophotonics now allow us to engineer optical properties from the bottom up, by designing materials and structures that manipulate light at the atomic and molecular scale. In this colloquium, I will provide an overview of our interdisciplinary research program in the Metamaterials and Nanophotonic Devices Laboratory, which bridges physics, chemistry, materials science, and electrical engineering.
I will highlight several directions where our work has opened new opportunities: DNA- assembled nanoparticle lattices that enable programmable control over collective optical responses; inverse-designed metasurfaces that perform real-time imaging and optical computing tasks; and hybrid platforms where quantum dots and rare-earth ions are integrated with resonant photonic structures to enhance light–matter interactions for quantum technologies. Throughout the talk, I will emphasize how machine learning, 3D printing, and bottom-up assembly expand the design space for photonic devices, uniting concepts across disciplines.
By presenting examples that range from classical imaging and spectroscopy to emerging quantum information science, my goal is to illustrate how nanoscale design of light–matter interactions can help shape the next generation of photonic technologies.
