{"id":146980,"date":"2025-05-30T13:00:51","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T17:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=146980"},"modified":"2025-05-30T13:18:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T17:18:35","slug":"new-research-group-aims-to-shape-quantum-properties-of-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/new-research-group-aims-to-shape-quantum-properties-of-light\/","title":{"rendered":"New Research Group Aims to Shape Quantum Properties of Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Assistant Professor Yannick Salamin\u2019s lab, the shelves are fuller every day. Delivery boxes arrive like clockwork. Students move equipment back and forth. Salamin says, pardon the dust.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry about the mess,\u201d he says, pushing some wires to the side. It\u2019s all part of the process to launch a new lab.<\/p>\n

Salamin got the keys to the space when he started at CREOL, the College of Optics and Photonics<\/a> in August 2024. Now his setup process is about to accelerate, thanks to a new infusion of funding from the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel amazing and truly honored by this award,\u201d Salamin says. \u201cI\u2019m excited that it\u2019s also shining a light on the important work we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Salamin is one of 36 faculty members nationwide to be honored with the award, which is sponsored by the Oak Ridge Association of Universities (ORAU). The initiative aims to support select junior faculty members with seed funding to help launch their research projects.<\/p>\n

In Salamin\u2019s case, that\u2019s the world of quantum nonlinear photonics (QNP), a group he hopes to grow as fast as his lab. The $5,000 from ORAU, matched with another $5,000 from the university, will allow him to recruit more students as he continues to install equipment. The QNP group\u2019s broad goal is to develop experimental systems to study and shape the quantum properties of light.<\/p>\n

Quantum light is typically generated within special structures known as optical cavities. Understanding what goes on inside of them is key to improving how we develop and control quantum states of light \u2014 and ultimately to advancing quantum technologies.<\/p>\n

While optical cavity systems have been around for some time, Salamin says that studying what happens inside them has been challenging. He compares it to a black box.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see the output, but you don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening within,\u201d he says. \u201cYet, that inner process is where the real magic happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, thanks to recent advances, Salamin and his team can not only peer inside these quantum systems, but they also hope to take things a step further\u2014by coupling other objects, such as atoms and quantum emitters, to their platform. This would allow them to manipulate and control the behavior of these coupled systems using precisely engineered quantum light.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s very exciting,\u201d Salamin says, \u201cBecause you can then use the atom as a quantum sensor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Real-time sensing at the atomic level has broad applications that include:<\/p>\n