Femtosecond Lasers and Ultrafast Phenomena ● Quantum and Nonlinear Photonics
Denis Seletskiy is an associate professor at the Department of Engineering Physics.
The primary aim of his research is to develop novel photonics tools and apply them to study quantumness of interacting light and matter toward real world high-technology applications. His other research interests include laser cooling of solids, nonlinear optics, nanophotonics and the development of new tools for optical precision metrology.
(514) 340-4711 extension 5976
QUANTUMNESS OF LIGHT AND MATTER
Since the invention of the laser in the 1950s, the role of light in the modern society is simply indispensable. From high-speed internet, personal electronic gadgets, bar-code scanners at a local grocery store and all the way to precision medicine and welding of the automobiles and ships – the pulse of our daily life beats with the drumbeat of photonics. How much more can we tame light and what does it hold for us in the future?
In addressing this question we first must come to the realization that in order to derive future photonic functionalities we must improve our current understanding of how light and matter interact at the most fundamental level, dictated by quantum physics. For most photonic devices operating around the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, the natural timescales at which these interactions occur are on the orders of few femtoseconds (fs), where 1 fs = 10-15 seconds.
With this in mind, the team of Prof. Seletskiy develops novel femtosecond sources and analysis techniques to apply them for investigation of light-matter coupling directly in the time domain, i.e. on femtosecond timescales. Recently, together with his colleagues from University of Konstanz (Germany), he pioneered a new method of direct analysis and control of quantum properties of light on timescales shorter than one oscillation cycle. Detailed understanding of these properties and how they change upon interaction with matter is a fascinating question that Seletskiy’s team will address at Polytechnique. By unraveling the dynamical interplay of quantum light and quantum matter at their “natural” timescales, we aim to derive new photonic functionalities for the ever-growing needs of our society.
Our group is young and we are looking for new talents to join us! If this research sounds interesting to you and you want to know more, please do not hesitate to contact Denis Seletskiy directly using one of the links above.
