| Nano-structures, such as photonic crystal cavities and metallic antennas, allow one to focus and store optical energy into very small volumes, greatly increasing light-matter interactions. These structures produce resonances which are typically characterized by how well they confine energy both temporally (quality factor -- Q) and spatially (mode volume -- V). In order to observe non-linear effects, modified spontaneous emission (e.g. Purcell enhancement), or quantum effects (e.g. vacuum Rabi splitting), one needs to maximize the ratio of Q/V while also maximizing the coupling between the resonance and the active medium. In this dissertation I will discuss several projects related by the goal of controlling light-matter interactions using such nano-structures.;In the first portion of this dissertation I will discuss the deterministic placement of self-assembled InAs quantum dots, which would allow one to precisely position an optically-active material, for maximum interaction, inside of a photonic crystal cavity. Additionally, I will discuss the use of atomic layer deposition to tune and improve both the resonance wavelength and quality factor of silicon based photonic crystal cavities.;Moving from dielectric materials to metals allows one to achieve mode-volumes well below the diffraction limit. The quality factor of these resonators is severely limited by Ohmic loss in the metal; however, the small mode-volume still allows for greatly enhanced light-matter interaction. In the second portion of this dissertation I will investigate the coupling between an array of metallic resonators (antennas) and a nearby semiconductor quantum well. Using time-resolved pump-probe measurements I study the properties of the coupled system and compare the results to a model which allows one to quantitatively compare various antenna geometries. |
