Kuipers Lab

NanoOptics

My name is Daniël and I recently started my PhD at the Kuipers Lab. I completed both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degree at the Radboud University of Nijmegen. During my master project I worked at the group of Ultrafast Spectroscopy of Correlated Matter (USCM) where I studied the dynamic non-collinear magnetization states in a Gd/FeCo multilayer. In the next four years I hope to expand my knowledge in the field of nano-optics and to broaden my academic skills. Specifically I will focus on topological protected edge states in an artificial photonic crystal. I look forward to work with my new colleagues and all the other members of the department of Quantum Nanoscience.

I am Corné and I am doing my master project in Kuipers Lab under supervision of Thijs. I did my bachelor in theoretical physics in Utrecht and after that I enrolled myself for the master program Applied Physics at the TU-Delft. During the master project I will investigate the electromagnetic fields in chiral photonic crystal waveguides. These waveguides differ from regular photonic crystal waveguides by their broken symmetries. The research goal is to optimize the chiral fields around the slab using simulations. After this the waveguides are fabricated and measured using a near-field microscope.

Hi! My name is Margriet and I am doing a short master project in Kuipers Lab. Before, I worked on the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond as a platform for quantum computing in Taminiau Lab. For the next six weeks I will measure on valley-Hall photonic crystals under the supervision of Sonakshi. We will investigate the relation between the pseudospin of topological states and the polarization of their far field radiation. I am really excited to work with the intricate near-field microscope to do some interesting experimental physics. In my free time, I love cooking for groups of people and walking in nature.

Di Yu got his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics in China. During his bachelor, Di worked on quantum optics and hybrid quantum systems. He will be doing his master thesis project investigating topological edge states at nanoscale with near-field optics.

Sonakshi Arora recently joined the Kuipers Lab for her PhD at TU Delft. She completed her Master’s degree at Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany. During her master project she worked on the excitonic properties of two-dimensional semiconductors to probe out-of-plane defect-bound states at low temperatures. For her PhD, she has chosen to delve into the field of nano-optics and hopes to strengthen her experimental skills to create new interesting materials to manipulate light with. She is excited to work on topological photonic crystals using near-field microscopy and possibly mix them up with 2D materials.

On December 20th 2018, Lorenzo De Angelis has defended his PhD thesis The Singular Optics of Random Light with success.

Congratulations with your promotion Dr. De Angelis, and good luck with your post-doc on neuroscience in Amsterdam!

We are happy to announce that Marc Noordam recently joined the Kuipers Lab and will be working on a new laser setup to perform far field measurements on 2D nanostructures. Marc graduated this summer from the master Applied Physics at the TU Delft. He performed his master thesis at Qutech about the readout of electron spin states confined in a 2DEG. Now he is looking forward to start discovering the field of NanoOptics.

Javier Hernandez-Rueda has just joined Kuiper’s group within the Quantum Nanoscience department as a Postdoctoral researcher. He carried out his PhD at the Optics Institute in Madrid within the GPL and worked as a postdoc scholar at the University of California Davis in Denise Krol’s group, both dedicated to study the ultrafast dynamics of the interaction of fs-laser pulses with dielectrics and its impact on laser materials processing. Afterwards, he was awarded a Marie Skłodowska Curie Individual Fellowship to study the transient scattering properties of levitating gold nanoparticles upon irradiation with ultrashort laser pulses. This research was conducted at Dries van Oosten’s group at the Universiteit Utrecht. Currently, he aims to study the nonlinear optical response of nanostructured materials by using a four wave mixing layout.

We welcome two new BSc students who are going to conduct their BEP project in our group!

Queryn will have a look at how to experimentally characterize our near-field microscope probes better and Thomas will investigate the formation of chaotic patterns and eventually look at optical singularities in random cavities.

All the best to the two of you!

Thijs van Gogh recently started as PhD in the Kuipers Lab here in the Department of Quantum Nanoscience at the TU Delft. He previously did a master in theoretical physics at Utrecht University. In his master project he investigated the influence of magnetic fields on both the bulk and surface energy states of a Weyl semimetal. For his PhD he has chosen to pursue a more experimental approach to research. He is looking forward to learning all about nano-optics and developing his experimental research skills and being able to apply his theoretical skills in order to further our understanding of optical rogue waves.

Irina Komen recently started a PhD position in the Kuipers Lab here in the Department of Quantum Nanoscience at the TU Delft. She did her Master projects at the Leiden University. In a first project, she was working in the Quantum Optics group on Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detectors, varying either the magnetic field or the polarization of the incoming light. In a second project in the Single Photon Detection group, she combined both photothermal imaging of gold nanorods and molecule fluorescence enhancement with optical tweezers. She is looking forward to explore the world of near-field microscopy and nano optics and develop herself scientifically in the exciting research environment of TU Delft.

Aron Opheij recently joined the Kuipers Lab in the Quantum Nanoscience department at TU Delft. He has previously worked in the group as PhD student before it moved from Amolf to Delft. Aron will support the group as a technician, applying the experience he acquired while working in the lab with lasers, optical setups and programming.

Thomas Bauer recently started a Postdoc position in the Kuipers Lab here in the Department of Quantum Nanoscience at the TU Delft. In before, he was working on his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen, Germany on the experimental reconstruction of tightly focused vectorial light fields, specifically concerning their polarization structure and containing sub-wavelength phenomena. He hopes to be able to take some of the background from there to the area of near-field microscopy in Delft, and is looking forward to the hopefully versatile interaction with all the exciting broad research topics dealt with here in the Department.

On December 12^th Anouk de Hoogh successfully defended her PhD thesis Optical singularities and nonlinear effects on plasmonic nanostructures at the Delft University of Technology.

Congratulations Dr. de Hoogh!