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Welcome to Irina Novikova's research group page!
We do a lot of interesting things with lasers, atoms (safely confined in
cosy glass cells), crystals and more!
Many of our experiments are in the realm of
Atomic, Molecular and Optical physics (AMO). We study coherent interaction of light
with atoms to control and manipulate optical properties of atomic ensembles, such as
Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT), slow and stored light, resonant Raman
processes, etc. We are also exploring possible applications of high-Q crystalline whispering gallery mode resonators (WGMRs) for nonlinear frequency conversion. Such cavities support the modes of light traveling along the circumference of a small disk, made out of a nonlinear crystal (we hand-polish them ourselves!) through total internal reflection. Because no actual mirror is used, extremely high quality factors can be achieved. This long cavity lifetime combined with small mode volume makes such systems attractive for the quantum optics applications. In particular, we are interested in observing narrow-band low-threshold second-harmonic generation as a first step toward the generation of squeezed light and heralded single photons. In collaboration with R. A. Lukaszew we are working on extending applications of the control methods developed for atomic phycics to studies of light propagation in metallic nanostructure supporting localized surface plasmons. In particular, we are investigating the nucleation and evolution of the metal-insulator phase transition in vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films and multi-layered structures using ultrafast laser spectroscopy and Raman scattering. |
