The interaction between electromagnetic and elastodynamic vibrations – between sound and light – has a long and distinguished history, dating at least from the work of Brillouin and Mandelstam in the early 20th century. More recently, researchers have begun to rediscover these interactions in the context of nanophotonics, in which material vibrations are trapped or guided within structures that possess features that are typically as large as the wavelength of light (and sound) in the material.

In these situations, the coupling between sound and light can be greatly enhanced, leading to strong physical effects. One of the most well-known interactions is Brillouin scattering, a coherent interaction between the optical and acoustic modes in optical waveguides. At nanophotonic scales, the interaction between the different types of fields involved in Brillouin scattering can become complicated and interesting.

In this webinar hosted by the Nonlinear Optics Technical Groupo, Christopher Poulton will discuss the fundamental physics of this effect, what researchers are currently using it for, and what the future may hold.

What You Will Learn:
• What is Brillouin scattering, and how does it relate to other optical nonlinearities
• We will cover the basic physics of vibrations in waveguides
• How we can use Brillouin scattering to store information acoustically


Who Should Attend:
• Honours and PhD students in optics
• Researchers in physics

About The Presenter: Christopher Poulton from The University of Technology Sydney

Prof. Chris Poulton is a Professor in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). He received his PhD in 2000 from the University of Sydney, before working in Liverpool UK and in Germany at the University of Karlsruhe (KIT) and at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen. His area of research is theoretical photonics, specialising in numerical and analytical methods in electromagnetic wave propagation in complex materials. His recent research includes work on Brillouin scattering, metamaterials, and the modelling of optical nonlinearities.