Quantum photonics using nanocavities

Coupling optical transitions to a single mode of an optical cavity can to enable generation of indistinguishable single photons, nonlinear-optical applications, quantum transduction, and control of chemical pathways. For all of these applications, coupling strengths need to be large compared to decoherence rates of the emitter. I will discuss progress towards this goal for various quantum emitters, including semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots), defects in silicon, and organic molecules. I will emphasize in particular the use of plasmonic nanocavities, which can have mode volumes well below the diffraction limit, and thus can provide coupling strengths than enable quantum photonics at room temperature.