Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/S80301/01
Title:	Quantum Optics in Quantum Semiconductors
Principal Investigator:	Phillips, Professor C
Other Investigators:	Murdin, Professor BN
Researcher Co-Investigators:	Dr P Stavrinou
Project Partners:	National Research Council of Canada UMIST University of Sheffield
Department:	Physics
Organisation:	Imperial College London
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 October 2004	Ends:	30 September 2008	Value (£):	564,376
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Lasers & Optics Optoelect. Devices & Circuits Quantum Optics & Information
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Electronics
Related Grants:
Panel History:	Panel Date Panel Name Outcome 30 Mar 2004 Joint Photonics Prioritisation Panel March 04 Deferred
Summary on Grant Application Form
The technology behind CD players and the internet now gives us the power to make crystals so small that their properties are governed by the strange laws of quantum mechanics. With this comes the power to synthesise designer atoms , similar in many ways to those in nature, but with the critical advantage that their energy levels and optical properties can be tailored to a particular scientific or a technological application. Already these are being used to make a new type of laser diode, one which operates over a previously inaccessible range of infrared wavelengths and is poised to revolutionise the fields of environmental monitoring, greenhouse gas detection, workplace safety, biomedicine and local area internet communications.We aim to use these designer atoms to provide an optically addressable qubit , the elusive information carrier for the quantum computer of the future. We will also conduct a range of quantum optical experiments, for example making the designer atoms transparent under an optical beam to make a lossless, and therefore highly efficient medium for lasing.The same technology allows us to make crystals which contain multiple mirrors arranged to form microscopic optical cavities. Placing the designer atoms inside these cavities creates a new entity, half matter and half light, which allows quantum information to be switched between these two forms of energy. We aim to study the potential of these new polaritons both as a testbed for new ideas in the field of quantum optics, and as a route to fundamentally new and radically improved IR lasers and detectors.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Organisation Website:	http://www.imperial.ac.uk