FY2022 Annual Report

Light-Matter Interactions for Quantum Technologies Unit
Professor Síle Nic Chormaic

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Abstract 

In FY2022 things began to return to some form of normal as Japan opened its borders and we were able to welcome our new staff members, vistors and students to OIST after 2 years of essentially no such activity.  With 16 arrivals in the space of about 6 weeks, the first half of FY2022 was spent on training all the new lab members and trying to recover from the knowledge that was lost during the COVID isolated years.  The second half began to see good progress on many of our projects and the major advances are discussed in the following.  

1. Staff

Research Staff

  • Dr. Dylan Brown, Postdoctoral Scholar
  • Dr. Jesse Everett, Postdoctoral Scholar (until October 2022)
  • Dr Vishnu Kavungal, Postdoctoral Scholar (from April 2022)
  • Dr. Jameesh Keloth, Postdoctoral Scholar (until February 2023)
  • Dr. Shilong Li, Staff Scientist
  • Dr Wenfang Li, Staff Scientist (from October 2022)
  • Dr Ramgopal Madugani, Postdoctoral Scholar (from April 2022)
  • Dr Souvik Sil, Postdoctoral Scholar (from May 2022)
  • Dr. Viet Giang Truong, Group Leader/Staff Scientist

Support Staff

  • Dr. Kristoffer Karlsson, Technician
  • Emi Nakamura, Research Unit Administrator
  • Metin Ozer, Technician

PhD Students

  • Theodoros Bouloumis, OIST PhD student
  • Ratnesh Kumar Gupta, OIST PhD student (until May 2022)
  • Mohammed Zia Jalaludeen
  • Pramitha Praveen Kamath, OIST PhD student (from September 2022)
  • Maki Maeda, OIST PhD student
  • Aswathy Raj, OIST PhD student
  • Lewis Ruks, OIST PhD student (co-supervision) (until March 2023)
  • Zohreh Shahrabifarahani, OIST PhD student
  • Alexey Vylegzhanin, OIST PhD student

Rotation/Intern Students/Visiting Research Student

  • Matthew Deonarine, Visiting Research Student, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada (March - April 2023)
  • Amal Jose, Rotation Student (January – April 2023)
  • Jia Jun Chen, Research Intern (November 2022 – May 2023)
  • Sergei Abdrakhmanov, Research Intern (October 2022 – March 2023)
  • Harley Suchiang, Rotation Student (September – December 2022)
  • Aleksandr Zaitsev, Research Intern (June 2022 – June 2023)
  • Liming Mao, Visiting Research Student, Harbin Engineering University, China (June 2022 – June 2023)
  • Zhuowei Cheng, Visiting Research Student, Harbin Engineering University, China (June 2022 – June 2023)
  • Hania Al Tabbaa, Rita R. Colwell Impact Fund Research Intern (June 2022 – January 2023)
  • Maryna Khrypko, OIST Foundation Research Intern (June 2022 – June 2023)
  • Arina Ismail, Research Intern (May – November 2022)
  • Yousif Saleh, Research Intern (May – October 2022)
  • Pramitha Praveen Kamath, Rotation Student (May – August 2022)
  • Jennifer Sanchez, Research Intern (May – August 2022)
  • Nikolaos Kokkinidis, Research Intern (April – October 2022)
  • Samuel Begumya, Research Intern (April – October 2022)
  • Jennifer Sanchez, Remote Research Intern (March – April 2022)

Visiting Researcher/JSPS Invitational Fellow

  • Dr Yanqiu Du, Visiting Researcher, Harbin Engineering University and Heilongjiang University of Science and Technology, China (May 2022 – May 2023)
  • Prof Domna Kotsifaki, Duke Kunshan University, China
  • Dr Ke Tian, Harbin Engineering University, China
  • Prof Yeon Ui Lee, JSPS Invitational Fellow, Chungbuk National University, Republic of Korea (June – August 2022)

2. Collaborations 

  • Theme: Plasmonic trapping of nanoparticles 
    • Type of collaboration: Joint research
    • Researchers:
      • D. Kotsifaki (Duke Kunshan University, China)
  • Theme: Nano-imaging techniques 
    • Type of collaboration: Joint research
    • Researchers:
      • YU Lee (Chungbuk National University, South Korea)​
  • Theme: Transverse spin effects 
    • Type of collaboration: Joint research
    • Researchers:
      • M. Petrov (ITMO, Russia)
      • I. Toftul (ANU, Australia)
      • G. Tkachenko (Tokyo University of Science, Japan)
  • Theme: Imaging of WGM resonators
    • Type of collaboration: Joint research
    • Researchers:
      • K. Tian (Harbin Engineering University, China)
  • Theme: Rydberg atom excitation using optical nanofibres
    • Type of collaboration: Joint research
    • Researchers:
      • K. Moelmer (Niels Bohr Institute, Denmark)
      • J. Robert (ENS Paris Saclay, France)
      • E. Brion (University of Toulouse, France)
      • D. Kornovan (Aarhus University, Denmark)
  • Theme: Nonlinear materials for WGM resonators 
    • Type of collaboration: Joint research
    • Researchers:
      • P. Wang (Harbin Engineering University, China)
      • K. Tian (Harbin Engineering University, China)
  • Theme: Plasma in microbubble cavities
    • Type of collaboration: Joint research
    • Researchers:
      • T. Carmon (Technion, now Tel-Aviv University, Israel)
  • Theme: E-coli detection
    • Type of collaboration: Joint research
    • Researchers:
      • D. Kotsifaki (Duke Kunshan Univesity, China)
      • R. R. Singh (Information Processing Biology Unit, OIST)
  • Theme: Neutral atoms and optical nanofibres
    • Type of collaboration: Joint research
    • Researchers:
      • T. Busch and F. Le Kien (Quantum Systems Unit, OIST)
      • D. Kornovan (Aarhus University, Denmark)

3. Activities and Findings

3.1 Evanescent field trapping and propulsion of Janus particles along optical nanofibers

Small composite objects, known as Janus particles, drive sustained scientific interest primarily targeted at biomedical applications, where such objects act as micro- or nanoscale actuators, carriers, or imaging agents. A major practical challenge is to develop effective methods for the manipulation of Janus particles. The available long-range methods mostly rely on chemical reactions or thermal gradients, therefore having limited precision and strong dependency on the content and properties of the carrier fluid. To tackle these limitations, we proposed the manipulation of Janus particles (here, silica microspheres half-coated with gold, see Fig. 1) by optical forces in the evanescent field of an optical nanofiber. We found that Janus particles exhibited strong transverse localization on the nanofiber and much faster propulsion compared to all-dielectric particles of the same size. These results establish the effectiveness of near-field geometries for optical manipulation of composite particles, where new waveguide-based or plasmonic solutions could be envisaged.

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Figure 1: Janus particles and the nanofiber-based manipulation concept. a, b Scanning electron microscope images of silica-gold Janus particles used in this study (d = 10 nm and 20 nm is the gold coating thickness). c Artistic view of a Janus particle in contact with the waist region of an optical nanofiber guiding a fundamental mode polarized in the symmetry yz-plane. The electric field distribution is simulated for the wavelength of 1.064 μm, 0.7-μm-thick nanofiber, 3-μm particle, 20-nm-thick gold cap tilted forward at an angle α = 30 degrees with respect to y. The particle is propelled along z by the scattering optical force, while staying trapped in the y direction due to the attractive gradient force.

Publication:
Evanescent field trapping and propulsion of Janus particles along optical nanofibers
G Tkachenko, VG Truong, CL Esporlas, I Sanskriti and S Nic Chormaic
Nat. Commun. 14, 1691 (2023)
 

3.2 Blue band nonlinear optics and photodarkening in silica microdevices

In this work, blue band nonlinear optics effects in a nanofiber-coupled silica microresonator were investigated experimentally with directly pumped hyperparametric oscillation and SRS being demonstrated in a silica microresonator at 462 nm. Due to the high optical intensity in nanofibers and microresonators, photodarkening is unavoidable and occurs at very low pump powers around 50 μW. As a result, the fiber transmission, Raman, and Kerr frequency comb signals cannot be maintained for reasonable pump powers. Crucially, the photodarkening was demonstrated to be sensitive to small changes in ambient temperature. Taking advantage of this, in-situ thermal bleaching proved to be an effective method to mitigate photodarkening losses (see Fig. 2 a-b), thereby enabling us to study blue band nonlinear effects in silica resonators. Up to three orders of cascaded SRS and two orders of hyperparametric oscillation were achieved in the presence of a slightly elevated ambient temperature during optical pumping (see Fig. 2 c-d).

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Figure 2: Thermal bleaching of a nanofiber after photodarkening. The transmission through the nanofiber for different temperatures: (a) 24–38°C (Insets: images of the waist of the nanofiber at 0/120/290 min. The exposure time of the CCD camera was set to the lowest value at the beginning); and (b) 24–50°C. Generation of (c) stimulated Raman scattering and (d) hyperparametric oscillation in the blue band in a silica microsphere. d is the diameter of the silica microsphere and the FSR is about 0.54 nm.

Publication:
Blue band nonlinear optics and photodarkening in silica microdevices
K Tian, J Yu, F Lei, JM Ward, A Li, P Wang and S Nic Chormaic
Photonics Res. 10, 2073 (2022) 

 

3.3 The role of temperature induced effects generated by plasmonic nanostructures on particle delivery and manipulation

Plasmonic optical tweezers that stem from the need to trap and manipulate ever smaller particles using non-invasive optical forces, have made significant contributions to precise particle motion control at the nanoscale. In addition to the optical forces, other effects have been explored for particle manipulation. For instance, the plasmonic heat delivery mechanism generates micro and nanoscale optothermal hydrodynamic effects, such as natural fluid convection, Marangoni fluid convection and thermophoretic effects that influence the motion of a wide range of particles from dielectric to biomolecules. In this review, a discussion of optothermal effects generated by heated plasmonic nanostructures was presented with a specific focus on applications to optical trapping and particle manipulation. It provided a discussion on the existing challenges of optothermal mechanisms generated by plasmonic optical tweezers and commented on their future opportunities in life sciences.

Publication:
The role of temperature induced effects generated by plasmonic nanostructures on particle delivery and manipulation:  A review
D.Kotsifaki and S Nic Chormaic
Nanophotonics 11, 2199 (2022)

 

3.4 Nanoparticle positioning via metamaterial plasmonic tweezers ​

Plasmonic tweezers exploit patterned nanostructures on metallic thin films and offer higher trap stiffness with lower laser intensity when compared with conventional optical tweezers[1]. Recently, a new type of plasmonic tweezers was demonstrated by Kotsifaki et. al (2020), which utilizes metamaterial structures patterned on metallic thin films, thus creating the metamaterial plasmonic tweezers[2]. The Fano interference appearing in metamaterials results in an ultra-small mode volume of the plasmonic cavity which leads to strong fields able to trap nanoparticles with very low laser power creating even stronger traps compared to simple plasmonic tweezers. In this work, we presented the use of metamaterial tweezers to trap sequentially, multiple polystyrene particles (see Fig. 3) and position them in an array very quickly. Simulations were performed in COMSOL Multiphysics in order to simulate the electromagnetic field and optical forces exerted on the nanoparticles. The experimental forces were measured to be in perfect agreement with the simulations with the trapping stiffness in the order of 3.5 fN/nm, more than 60 times higher compared to other popular plasmonic tweezers configurations. An occupancy of 80% of the available hotspots was observed, making our platoform a great candidate for positioning nanoparticles on the desired hotspots and sorting them based on their size.

​

Figure 3: Recorded transmission signal monitoring the trapping events (signal jumps). 21 sequential trapping events within 10 sec are observed in the signal.

[1] T. Bouloumis and S. Nic Chormaic, From far-field to near-field micro- and nano-particle optical trapping, Applied Sciences, 10, 4, 1375, (2020).
[2] D. G. Kotsifaki, V. G. Truong, and S. Nic Chormaic, Fano-resonant, asymmetric, metamaterial-assisted tweezers for single nanoparticle trapping, Nano Letters, 20, 5, 3388–3395, (2020).

Publication:
Nanoparticle positioning via metamaterial plasmonic tweezers ​ 
T Bouloumis, DG Kotsifaki and S Nic Chormaic
Proc. SPIE 12479, Optical Manipulation and Structured Materials Conference 2022, 124790P (8 December 2022)

 

3.5 Rubidium atom spectral lineshapes in high intensity light fields near an optical nanofibre

In this work, we experimentally investigated the origin of the two-peak profile of a fluorescence signal observed during single-frequency two-photon excitation near an optical nanofibre. To understand its origin, we performed experiments using one-photon excitation for atoms both near and far from the nanofibre. A similar profile was present when one-photon excitation was performed near the ONF. From the various probing schemes, we speculated that, at higher excitation powers, resonance scattering-induced pushing near the nanofibre becomes the dominant effect. This sharply depletes the atom number density, giving rise to a dip in the fluorescence (Fig. 4). Our studies will be crucial for experiments where high electric field intensities near an optical nanofibre are needed, for example when driving nonlinear processes.

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Figure 4: Fluorescence at 795 nm from the cold atoms near the nanofibre during two-photon excitation in the absence of the MOT cooling beams. Signals are compared for different excitation powers.

Publication:
Rubidium atom spectral lineshapes in high intensity electric fields near an optical nanofibre
V Gokhroo, F Le Kien and S Nic Chormaic
J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 55, 125301 (2022)

 

3.6 Machine learner optimization of optical nanofiber-based dipole traps for cold 87Rb atoms

In this work, we used an in-loop stochastic artificial neural network machine learner (Fig. 5) to increase the number of cold 87Rb atoms loaded in a shallow uncompensated optical nanofiber-based two-color evanescent dipole trap array.  By optimizing the laser cooling process, paramaterized by experimental controls (such as magnetic fields and laser beam powers and detunings), the learner could increase the peak optical depth by 66% from 3.2 to 5.3. We infered an increase in the number of dipole-trapped atoms of 50% from 300 to 450, by using a microscopic model of the atomic absorption. The increased number of atoms should facilitate studies on optical nanofiber mediated collective atom-light interactions and nearest-neighbour interactions in a 1D lattice of Rydberg atoms.

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Figure 5: (a) Conceptual diagram for online optimization, showing iterative training of the neural network. (b) Probe transmission spectra after manual optimization (black dots) and machine learner optimization (red dots) of loading atoms into the dipole traps. The solid curves are the theory fits corresponding to 300 atoms for the black and 450 atoms for the red dots. (c) Same data is plotted in terms of optical depth.

Publication:
Machine leaner optimization of optical nanofiber-based dipole traps for cold 87Rb atoms ​ 
RK Gupta, JL Everett, AD Tranter, R Henke, V Gokhroo, PK Lam and S Nic Chormaic 
AVS Quantum Sci. 4, 026801 (2022) 

 

4. Publications

4.1 Journals

  1. Tkachenko, G., Truong, V. G., Esporas, C. L., Sanskriti, I. & Nic Chormaic, S.  Evanescent field trapping and propulsion of Janus particles along optical nanofibers. Nature Communications 14, 1691, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37448-2 (2023).
  2. Nic Chormaic, S., Vylegzhanin, A., Shahrabifarahani, Z., Raj, A., Zaitsev, A., Abdrakhmanov, S., Li, W., Everett, J. & Brown, D.  Probing cold atom interactions via optical nanofibers. Proceedings of SPIE 12447, doi: https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2657345 (2023).
  3. Tian, K., Zhang, M., Zhao, C., Li, H., Li, S., Jiang, Y., Lewis, E., Farrell, G. & Wang, P.  High-sensitivity vector bend sensor based on a fiber directional coupler inscribed by a femtosecond laser.* Optics Letters 48, 1498-1501 (2023), doi: https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.479114 (2023).
  4. Stourm, E., Lepers, M., Robert, J., Nic Chormaic, S., Molmer, K. & Brion, E.  Interaction of two Rydberg atoms in the vicinity of an optical nanofibre.* New Journal of Physics 25, 023022, doi: https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/acb83f (2023).
  5. Kien, F. L., Nic Chormaic, S. & Busch, T.  Direction-dependent coupling between a nanofiber-guided light field and a two-level atom with an electric quadrupole transition. Physical Review A 107, 013713, doi: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.107.013713 (2023).
  6. Wang, J., Valligatla, S., Yin, Y., Schwarz, L., Medina-Sanchez, M., Baunack, S., Lee, C. H., Thomale, R., Li, S., Fomin, V. M., Libo, M. & Schmidt, O. G.  Experimental observation of Berry phases in optical Möbius-strip microcavities.* Nature Photonics 17, 120-125, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-022-01107-7 (2022).
  7. Alonso, I., Gupta, R. K. & et al.  Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map. EPJ Quantum Technology 9, doi: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjqt/s40507-022-00147-w (2022).
  8. Bouloumis, T., Kotsifaki, D. & Nic Chormaic, S.  Nanoparticle positioning via metamaterial plasmonic tweezers. Proceedings of SPIE 12479, doi: https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2659045 (2022).
  9. Pan, F., Karlsson, K., Nixon, A. G., Hogan, L. T., Ward, J. M., Smith, K. C., Masiello, D. J., Nic Chormaic, S. & Goldsmith, R. H.  Active Control of Plasmonic–Photonic Interactions in a Microbubble Cavity.* The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 126, 20470-20479, doi: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c05733 (2022).
  10. Lee, Y. U., Li, S., Wisna, G. B. M., Zhao, J., Zeng, Y., Tao, A. R. & Liu, Z.  Hyperbolic material enhanced scattering nanoscopy for label-free super-resolution imaging.* Nature Communications 13, 6631, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34553-6 (2022).
  11. Tian, K., Yu, J., Lei, F., Ward, J., Li, A., Wang, P. & Nic Chormaic, S.  Blue band nonlinear optics and photodarkening in silica microdevices Photonics Research 10, 2073-2080 (2022), doi: https://doi.org/10.1364/PRJ.459561 (2022).
  12. Lee, Y. U., Nie, Z., Li, S., Lambert, C.-H., Zhao, J., Yang, F., Wisna, G. B. M., Yang, S., Zhang, X. & Liu, Z.  Ultrathin Layered Hyperbolic Metamaterial-Assisted Illumination Nanoscopy.* Nano Letters 22, 5916-5921, doi: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c01932 (2022).
  13. Kien, F. L., Nic Chormaic, S. & Busch, T.  Transfer of angular momentum of guided light to an atom with an electric quadrupole transition near an optical nanofiber. Physical Review A 106, 013712, doi: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.106.013712 (2022).
  14. Kien, F. L., Nic Chormaic, S. & Busch, T.  Optical force between two coupled identical parallel optical nanofibers. Physical Review A 105, 063517, doi: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.105.063517 (2022).
  15. Gokhroo, V., Kien, F. L. & Nic Chormaic, S.  Rubidium atom spectral lineshapes in high intensity light fields near an optical nanofibre. Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics 55, 125301, doi: https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6455/ac6bd4 (2022).
  16. Gupta, R. K., Everett, J., Tranter, A. D., Henke, R., Gokhroo, V., Lam, P. K. & Nic Chormaic, S.  Machine learner optimization of optical nanofiber-based dipole traps. AVS Quantum Science 4, 026801, doi: https://doi.org/10.1116/5.0086507 (2022).
  17. Kien, F. L., Kornovan, D. F., Nic Chormaic, S. & Busch, T.  Repulsive Casimir-Polder potentials of low-lying excited states of a multilevel alkali-metal atom near an optical nanofiber. Physical Review A 105, 042817, doi: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.105.042817 (2022).
  18. Truong, T. D. H., Nguyen, H. H., Le, H. B., Dung, D. H., Tran, H.-M., Vy, N. D., Anh-Tai, T. D. & Pham, V. N. T.  Soft parameters in Coulomb potential of noble atoms for nonsequential double ionization: Classical ensemble model and simulations.* Computer Physics Communications 276, 108372, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpc.2022.108372 (2022).
  19. Kotsifaki, D. & Nic Chormaic, S.  The role of temperature-induced effects generated by plasmonic nanostructures on particle delivery and manipulation: a review. Nanophotonics 11, 2199-2218, doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2022-0014 (2022).

*main work done outside OIST

4.2 Books and other one-time publications

  • Plasmon-enhanced optical forces and tweezers ​ 
    Kotsifaki, DG., Truong, VG. and Nic Chormaic, S.
    in Plasmon-Enhanced Light-Matter Interactions (eds. P Yu, H Xu, ZM Wang),  Springer Lect. Notes Nanoscale Sci. (LNNST, volume 31), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87544-2. 

4.3 Oral and Poster Presentations

  1. Bouloumis, T. Metamaterials for trapping and nanopositioning quantum emitters (contributed talk): Quantum Nanophotonics, Benasque, Spain, 16 March (2023).
  2. Jalaludeen, M. Z., Li, S. & Nic Chormaic, S. Experimental techniques to characterize geometry of hollow whispering gallery resonators (contributed talk): SPIE Photonics West, San Francisco, USA, 02 February (2023).
  3. Bouloumis, T., Kotsifaki, D. & Nic Chormaic, S. Fast trapping and positioning of multiple polystyrene nanoparticles in a metamaterial plasmonic array (contributed talk): SPIE Photonics West, San Francisco, USA, 31 January (2023).
  4. Nic Chormaic, S., Vylegzhanin, A., Shahrabifarahani, Z., Raj, A., Zaitsev, A., Abdrakhmanov, S., Li, W., Everett, J. & Brown, D.  Probing cold atom interactions via optical nanofibers (invited talk): SPIE Photonics West, San Francisco, USA, 30 January (2023).
  5. Raj, A., Vylegzhanin, A., Saheh, Y., Brown, D. & Nic Chormaic, S. Rydberg atom interactions with an optical nanofiber (poster): German Conference of Women in Physics, Karlsruhe, Germany, 26 November (2022).
  6. Kotsifaki, D., Bouloumis, T., Truong, V. G. & Nic Chormaic, S. Plasmonic Fano-resonant metamaterial for nanoparticle trapping and biosensing (invited talk): SPIE-CLP Conference on Advance Photonics 2022, Shanghai, China (online), 16 November (2022).
  7. Kotsifaki, D., Truong, V. G., Bouloumis, T. & Nic Chormaic, S. Nanoparticle trapping and biosensing using plasmonic metamaterial chips (invited talk by video): Optics& Photonics Japan 2022, Utsunomiya, Japan, 14 November (2022).
  8. Vylegzhanin, A., Raj, A., Saleh, Y., Brown, D. & Nic Chormaic, S. Ryberg atom interactions with an optical nanofiber (poster): TSQS 2022 Hybrid conference, Tokyo, Japan, 10 November (2022). 
  9. Raj, A., Vylegzhanin, A., Saleh, Y., Brown, D. & Nic Chormaic, S. Highly excited atom interactions with an optical nanofiber (poster): OIST Center for Quantum Technologies Mini Symposium, Okinawa, Japan, 09 November (2022).
  10. Jalaludeen, M. Z., Begumya, S., Du, Y., Li, S. & Nic Chormaic, S. Cavity quantum electrodynamics with single NV− centers and hollow whispering gallery resonators (poster): OIST Center for Quantum Technologies Mini Symposium, Okinawa, Japan, 09 November (2022).
  11. Nic Chormaic, S. Manipulating and trapping particles using near-field optics (invited webinar online): Optical Trapping and Manipulation in Molecular and Cellular Biology Technical Group, Optica, 09 November (2022).  
  12. Shahrabifarahani, Z. Designing an experiment for four-wave mixing with optical nanofiber evanescent dipole-trapped atoms (poster):  TSQS 2022 Hybrid conference, Tokyo, Japan, 08 November (2022). 
  13. Nic Chormaic, S. From cold atoms to microbead manipulation using ultrathin optical fibres (invited lecture online): IEEE-Optica IIT Bombay Photonics Student Chapters Invited Lecturer, 04 November 2022.  
  14. Jalaludeen, M. Z., Li, S. & Nic Chormaic, S. Internal structure of hollow microbubble resonators (Poster): Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science 2022, Rochester, USA, 19 October (2022).
  15. Nic Chormaic, S. Using optical nanofibres to mediate cold atom interactions (invited talk): DAALI Workshop "Delving into light-matter interactions and their applications", Barcelona, Spain, 13 October (2022). 
  16. Nic Chormaic, S. Using optical nanofibres to mediate cold atom interactions (contributed talk): EOSAM 2022, Porto, Portugal, 13 September (2022).  
  17. Nic Chormaic, S. Manipulating and trapping particles from atoms to Janus spheres using optical nanofibres (plenary and Rank Prize Lecture): Photon UK, Nottingham, England, 31 August (2022). 
  18. Tkachenko, G., Truong, V. G. & Nic Chormaic, S. Particle manipulation using evanescent light fields of optical nanofibres (contributed talk): LIP Conference, Warsaw, Poland, 23 August (2022).  
  19. Jalaludeen, M. Z., Li, S. & Nic Chormaic, S. Characterization and modelling of microbubble microcavities (contributed talk): APPC 2022 (online), Korea, 24 August (2022).  
  20. Nic Chormaic, S. Optical nanofibre dipole traps and Rydberg atom interactions (invited talk): APPC 2022 (online), Korea, 23 August (2022).  
  21. Nic Chormaic, S., Vylegzhanin, A., Shahrabifarahani, Z., Raj, A., Gupta, R. K., Brown, D. & Everett, J. Hybrid quantum systems using optical nanofibres integrated with cold rubidium atoms (invited talk): CLEO Pacific Rim 2022, Sapporo, Japan, 04 August (2022).
  22. Li, S., Tian, K., Jalaludeen, M. Z. & Nic Chormaic, S. Photogrammetry of asymmetric microcavities (contributed talk): CLEO Pacific Rim 2022, Sapporo, Japan, 04 August (2022).
  23. Brown, D. Toward A 1D Chain Of Cold Rydberg Atoms Next To An Optical Nanofiber (poster): CLEO Pacific Rim 2022, Sapporo, Japan, 04 August (2022).
  24. Brown, D. Toward A 1D Chain Of Cold Rydberg Atoms Next To An Optical Nanofiber (poster): ICAP 2022, Toronto, Canada, 19 July (2022).
  25. Nic Chormaic, S. Near-field optics for trapping and manipulating micro- and nanoparticles (invited talk): Optical Sensors and Sensing Conference, Vancouver, Canada (hybrid), 12 July (2022). 
  26. Nic Chormaic, S. Single nanoparticle trapping using metamaterial-assisted optical tweezers (contributed talk): Plasmonica 2022, Turin, Italy, 08 July (2022)
  27. Vylegzhanin, A. Highly Excited Atom Interactions with an Optical Nanofiber (online contributed talk): Quantum 2.0 conference, Everett, USA (hybrid), 16 June (2022).
  28. Brown, D. Towards a 1d chain of Rydberg atoms interfaced with an optical nanofiber (online contributed talk): Quantum 2.0 conference, Everett, USA (hybrid), 16 June (2022).
  29. Everett, J. Machine learner optimization of atom loading in optical nanofiber-based evanescent dipole traps (e-Poster): Quantum 2.0 conference, Everett, USA (hybrid), 15 June (2022).
  30. Truong, V. G., Kotsifaki, D. & Nic Chormaic, S. Transport and trapping of nanoscale particles in a steep plasmonic photothermal temperature gradient (contributed talk). OMC 2022, Yokohama, Japan, 20 April (2022).
  31. Bouloumis, T., Kotsifaki, D. & Nic Chormaic, S. Nanoparticle positioning via metamaterial plasmonic tweezers (contributed talk): OMC 2022, Yokohama, Japan, 18 April (2022).
  32. Li, S., Jalaludeen, M. Z., Tian, K. & Nic Chormaic, S. Low-dimensional whispering gallery mode microcavities for enhanced light-matter interactions: From rolled-up microtubes to bottle-like nanocapillaries (contributed talk): ICNN 2022, Yokohama, Japan, 18 April (2022).
  33. Brown, D. Towards a 1D chain of Rydberg atoms interfaced with an optical nanofiber (invited talk). Ultracold Atoms Japan 2022, Okinawa, Japan, 14 April (2022).

4.5 Seminar (outside OIST)

  1. Nic Chormaic, S. Trapping particles using near-field optics: ISI Brno, Czech Republic, 23 March (2023).
  2. Nic Chormaic, S. Evanescent field trapping and manipulation from cold atoms to microparticles: University of Vienna, Austria, 21 March (2023).
  3. Li, S., Jalaludeen, M. Z. & Nic Chormaic, S. Toward super-resolution quantum imaging with NV– nanodiamonds: Yeon Ui Lab, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, South Korea, 30 January (2023).
  4. Vylegzhanin, A. Rydberg atoms excitation next to an optical nanofiber and education at OIST: Izmir institute of technology, Izmir, Turkey, 27 December (2022).
  5. Jalaludeen, M. Z., Li, S., & Nic Chormaic, S. Charactezation and theoretical modeling of hollow bottle-like WGM microresonators: Takeuchi Lab, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, 28 November (2022).
  6. Nic Chormaic, S. From cold atoms to microbeads - manipulation using optical nanofibres: 5th Institute of Physics, Stuttgart University, Germany, 28 November (2022).
  7. Nic Chormaic, S. From cold atoms to microbeads - manipulation using ultrathin optical fibre: Maynooth University, Ireland, 05 October (2022).
  8. Truong, V. G. Particle Trapping and Manipulation in the Evanescent Field of Ultrathin Optical Fibres (online): Wuhan University of Technology, China, 9 June (2022).
  9. Keloth, J. Towards interfacing quantum emitters with optical nanofiber cavities (online): Wuhan University of Technology, China, 23 May (2022).
  10. Everett, J. Machine learner optimization of optical nanofiber atom trap loading (online): Wuhan University of Technology, China, 19 May (2022).
  11. Nic Chormaic, S. Optical nanofibre research from atomic physics to particle manipulation (online). Wuhan University of Technology, China, 19 May (2022). 

5. Intellectual Property Rights and Other Specific Achievements

LASER BASED ON A DIELECTRIC RESONATOR WITH GAS OR PLASMA AT POPULATION INVERSION US Provisional Patent Application No. 63/443,486

6. Meetings and Events

6.1 Seminar

Title: Levitodynamics: Optomechanics with a levitated nanoparticle
Date: March 28, 2023
Venue: on Zoom
Speaker: Prof. Romain Quidant (ETH Zürich, Switzerland)

Title: Ultrafast measurements, extreme events, and fifty years of solitons in nonlinear fibre optics
Date: March 14, 2023
Venue: on Zoom
Speaker: Prof. John Dudley (Institut FEMTO-ST, France)

Title: Exploiting light scattering for imaging and computing
Date: March 7, 2023
Venue: on Zoom
Speaker: Prof. Sylvain Gigan (Sorbonne Université, Kastler-Brossel Laboratory, France)

Title: Development of optical remote imaging, spectroscopic diagnostic and treatment monitoring for a diverse patient population
Date: March 6, 2023
Venue: E48, Lab4, OIST campus
Speaker: Prof. Alexandre (Sasha) Douplik (Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada)

Title: Surfing an optical potential slope by using a phase transition and the spin of light
Date: February 28, 2023
Venue: on Zoom
Speaker: Dr. Christophe Pin (Hokkaido University, Japan)

Title: Optical tweezers: from space to the nanoscale… and back
Date: February 21, 2023
Venue: on Zoom
Speaker: Prof. Onofrio M. Maragò (CNR-IPCF, Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, Messina, Italy)

Title: Finding Knowledge: Adventures Using the Shape of Light
Date: February 7, 2023
Venue: on Zoom
Speaker: Dr. Mary Jacquiline Romero (University of Queensland, Australia)

Title: Measurement of optical forces and torques acting on trapped particles
Date: January 24, 2023
Venue: on Zoom
Speaker: Prof. Monika Ritsch-Marte (Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria)

Title: Nonlinear nanocrystals for electro-optic and quantum devices
Date: January 17, 2023
Venue: on Zoom
Speaker: Prof. Rachel Grange (ETH Zurich, Switzerland)

Title: Optical manipulation applications from soft matter to biomechanics
Date: December 15, 2022
Venue: C209, Centre Building, OIST campus
Speaker: Dr Marios Sergides (University of Cyprus, Cyprus)

Title: Anderson localisation and quantum optics experiments in Auckland
Date: November 10, 2022
Venue: C210, Centre Building, OIST campus
Speaker: Prof. Maarten Hoogerland (University of Auckland, New Zealand)

Title: Super Resolution Imaging with Metamaterials
Date: August 9, 2022
Venue: C209, Centre Building, OIST campus
Speaker: Prof. Yeon Ui Lee (Chungbuk National University, Republic of Korea)

6.2 Research Visit

  • Prof Alexandre (Sasha) Douplik, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada, 03 March - 13 April, 24-26 April 2023
  • Dr Marios Sergides, University of Cyprus, 12-17 December 2022
  • Prof Maarten Hoogerland, University of Auckland, New Zealand, 9-11 November 2022
  • Dr Georgiy Tkachenko, Tokyo University of Science, Japan, 15-19 August 2022
  • Marija Radulovic, Bristol University, UK, 10-12 August 2022
  • Tom Denecker, National Institutes of Natural Sciences (IMS), Japan, 8-12 August 2022
  • Joa Morla, National Institutes of Natural Sciences (IMS), Japan, 8-12 August 2022

7. Other

  • Maki Maeda won Best Poster Prize at JSAP Photonics Meeting
  • One PhD student graduated, Dr Ratnesh Kumar Gupta
  • Prof. Nic Chormaic was awarded funding to establish the Chimu-Gukuru research internships for students from Ukraine and Russia
  • Prof. Nic Chormaic was awarded an OIST Interdisciplinary Postdoc with Prof. C. Luscombe
  • Drs Viet Giang Truong and Shilong Li won JSPS KAKENHI grants

Prof. Nic Chormaic assumed the following roles:

  • Editorial Board Member for SPIE Advanced Photonics
  • Editorial Advisory Board Member for AVS Quantum Science (AQS)       
  • Committee Member for the SPIE Structured Light Conference: OMC (online) 
  • Committee Member for the ICNN 2022 Conference (online) 
  • International Program Commitee NFO 16, Canada
  • Committee Member for EOSAM Porto, Portugal – Quantum Optics Meeting
  • Optica Nonlinear Photonics Conference Session Chair, The Netherlands 
  • Global Representative for JSAP
  • Optica/DPG Herbert Walter Award Committee Chair
  • RANK Prize Lecture Photon UK 2022
  • ERC Reviewer - Synergy Grants
  • Expert Evaluator Paris Region Postdoc Fellowship
  • Hong Kong Research Council Reviewer
  • External PhD Examiner, UNSW, Australia
  • SPIE EDI Committee Member