The project is focused on identifying how we can harness quantum advantage in Raman scattering (RS), to boost the SERS/TERS, and various stimulated RS techniques.
Brillouin scattering between optical and acoustic waves can be optimised by ensuring that they propagate through the same part – typically the core – of a waveguide. However, ensuring that co-localisation turns out to be rather tricky! For example, a standard rib waveguide with silicon core and silica substrate will happily guide optical waves in silicon (which supports light propagating slower than in silica), but the acoustic waves will leak out into the substrate. That’s because acoustic waves in silica propagate slower than in silicon.
Together with Mike Steel, we’re hosting the Winter workshop on quantum acoustics and optomechanics at Macquarie University (24-25 July 2025)!
The workshop will feature several invited and contributed talks on state-of-the-art platforms and implementations of quantum acoustics, opto- and electromechanics, from the Australian experts.
Program
Day 1 (24 July, 10:00 – 16:50): 01Wally’s Walk, 102 Case study theatre
10:00-10:45 Mikolaj K. Schmidt (Macquarie University) – opening remarks
10:45-11:30 Christopher Baker (University of Queensland) – tba
11:30-12:00 morning tea (ESC café)
12:00-12:45 Ting Rei Tan (University of Sydney) – “Quantum enhanced multi-parameter sensing in a single mode”
12:45-13:05 Julian Lawn (James Cook University) – “Current induced mechanical (in)stability in a DNA junction”
13:05-14:15 lunch (Ubar)
14:15-15:00 Andrea Morello (University of New South Wales) – “Quantum information and quantum foundations with spins in silicon”
15:00-15:20 Laura O’Neill (University of New South Wales) – “Coupling nuclear spins to mechanical motion”
15:20-15:50 afternoon tea (ESC café)
15:50-16:30 Cyril Laplane (University of Sydney) – “Towards 3D quantum control of a levitated nanomechanical oscillator in free space”
16:30-16:50 Denis Ilin (University of Technology Sydney) – “Polaron effect in waveguide quantum optomechanics”
dinner – venue in Kirribilli/North Sydney tba (not covered by the organisers)
9:00-9:45 Damien Raynal (University of Adelaide) – “Translational and rotational (nanothermo)-dynamics with a trapped particle”
9:45-10:30 Zixin Huang (RMIT) – “Simultaneous position and momentum measurement with GKP states”
10:30-10:50 Soroush Khademi (University of Queensland) – “Post-processed trajectory of a quantum system”
10:50-11:20 morning tea (Cult café)
11:20-12:05 Vanessa Olaya Agudelo (University of Sydney) – “Mixed-qudit-boson approach for simulation of chemical dynamics“
12:05-12:50 Alexander Wood (University of Melbourne) – “Classical rotation of quantum spins and quantum rotations of classical things”
12:30-13:45 lunch (Ubar)
13:45-14:30 William Campbell (University of Western Australia) – “Searching for high frequency gravitational waves with acoustic systems”
14:30-15:15 Jesse Slim (University of Queensland) – “Breaking symmetries in optically-coupled mechanical resonator networks”
15:15 – 15:30 closing remarks
Online participation
To participate online, please contact the organisers directly. Note that some speakers might requests that their presentations aren’t recorded or transmitted online.
In collaboration with Elisabeth Wagner, Polina Sharapova from the University of Paderborn, and Mike Steel from MQ, we’ve published a theoretical proposal on using waveguides with helical gratings to generate pairs of polarisation-entangled photons, in New Journal of Physics:
Elisabeth Wagner, Mikołaj K Schmidt, Michael J Steel and Polina R Sharapova, “Generation of polarization-entangled counter-propagating photons with high orbital angular momentum,” New Journal of Physics, 27 064106 (2025)
Our new paper (arxiv.org:2412.02106) on a new type of hybrid cavity, composed of an atomic defect in diamond and a plasmonic nanoparticle, enabling Raman scattering with dramatically improved efficiency, prepared in collaboration with A/Prof. Alex High from the University of Chicago, is now out in ACS Photonics!
Led by the MRes student Thomas Dinter, and in a collaboration with Dr. Cyril Laplane and members of the QMAPP group, we propose a new protocol for simultaneous measurement and cooling of three centre-of-mass degrees of freedom. The preprint detailing, and demonstrating its performance is now available at arxiv.org/abs/2409.08827.
Together with our MRes student Thomas Dinter and Prof. Michael J. Steel we’ve put up a new preprint on optoacoustic rib wavegudies which use the anti-resonant acoustic guidance mechanism (which we’ve introduced some time ago).
Two of the MRes students from our group – Daniel Biazzo and Adem Ozer – received Master of Research Scholarships through the CSIRO Next Generation program.
Daniel is working on active control over Floquet topological photonics, while Adem is exploring applications of time-varying optical metasurfaces.
Back after the holidays, we had the first gropu meeting of 2024! Few new faces include the 5 undegraduate summer vacation students, sponsored by the Sydney Quantum Academy:
Bianca and Kal (both from the University of Sydney) are working on mechanical sensing with anharmonic potentials,
Sophia (UNSW) and Glen (MQ) work on the methods for estimating correlations using Monte Carlo methods,
Tom (MQ) is designing novel 2,5-dimensional acoustic crystals.
We also have a new MRes student – Daniel – who will be doing his thesis work on topological photonics.
Mikołaj K. Schmidt 