Silicon Photonics for LiDAR Sensors, Augmented-Reality Displays, Biophotonic Tweezers, Trapped-Ion Quantum, and Beyond

Using light for controlling and manipulating isolated microscopic systems is at the foundation of quantum computation and quantum information processing.

Currently, most of the existing experimental setups rely on conventional free-space optics, that are bulky and hardly scalable.  However, recent results suggest that photonic integrated circuits and nanophotonics could allow us to overcome some of the main challenges in these fields, in particular considering the future scaling of quantum systems, which is not only a critical requirement for scientific progress but also for the future commercialization of quantum technologies based on trapped particles.

This series of seminars, jointly organized by the Optica Technical Groups of Integrated Photonics and Optical Cooling and Trapping, will feature three distinguished speakers who will share insights on their progress of using integrated nanophotonic circuits for the trapping and manipulation of neutral atoms, ions and nanoparticles. This week's session will feature a talk from Jelena Notaros, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Abstract:

By enabling the integration of millions of micro-scale optical components on compact millimeter-scale computer chips, silicon photonics is positioned to enable next-generation optical technologies that facilitate revolutionary advances for numerous fields spanning science and engineering. An emerging class of silicon-photonics systems is integrated optical phased arrays (OPAs), which enable manipulation and dynamic control of free-space light in a compact form factor, at low costs, and in a non-mechanical way. This talk will highlight our work on developing novel OPA-based platforms, devices, and systems that enable innovative chip-based solutions to high-impact problems in areas including LiDAR sensing for autonomous vehicles, augmented-reality displays, free-space optical communications, optical trapping for biophotonics, 3D printing, and trapped-ion quantum engineering. 

About Our Speakers

Jelena Notaros

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

About Jelena Notaros

Jelena Notaros is the Robert J. Shillman Career Development Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from MIT in 2020 and 2017, respectively, and B.S. degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2015. Jelena was one of three Top DARPA Risers, a 2018 DARPA D60 Plenary Speaker, a 2023 NSF CAREER Award recipient, a 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 Listee, a 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 All Star, a 2021 MIT Robert J. Shillman Career Development Chair recipient, a 2020 MIT RLE Early Career Development Award recipient, a 2015 MIT Herbert E. and Dorothy J. Grier Presidential Fellow, a 2015-2020 NSF Graduate Research Fellow, a 2024 Optica CLEO Highlighted Talk Award recipient, a 2019 Optica CLEO Chair's Pick Award recipient, a 2022 Optica APC Best Paper Award recipient, a 2022 Optica FiO Emil Wolf Best Paper Award Finalist, a 2014 IEEE Region 5 Paper Competition First Place recipient, a 2023 MIT Louis D. Smullin Award for Teaching Excellence recipient, a 2018 EECS Rising Star, a 2014 Sigma Xi Undergraduate Research Award recipient, and a 2015 CU Boulder Chancellor's Recognition Award recipient, among other honors.