Abstract Quantum nanophotonics places nanoscale structuring in direct dialogue with photonic quantum information—compressing functionality to the few-nanometre, few-femtosecond frontier while retaining energy efficiency, speed and room-temperature operation. We highlight nanoplasmonic cavity-QED architectures in which extreme mode confinement delivers strong coupling under ambient conditions, enabling ultrafast single-photon emission and near-field multipartite entanglement using industry-grade near-field transducers that nanofocus guided light at practical efficiencies. We set these advances against the arc from early plasmonic cQED proposals and single-emitter Purcell studies to modern time-domain measurements that resolve sub-picosecond polariton/Rabi dynamics—establishing a clear route from concept to device. In parallel, we point to low-loss, high-index Mie resonators whose spectrally sharp electric and magnetic modes afford narrow-band coherent control, filtering and radiation-pattern engineering, and which naturally co-integrate in hybrid metal–dielectric stacks that combine ultrastrong local coupling with low-loss routing and storage. Finally, we discuss quantum nanoplasmonic coherent perfect absorption (qnCPA)—a waveguide-fed, non-perturbing protocol that selectively prepares and protects plasmon–emitter dressed states via dissipation-assisted, unidirectional feeding. Together with macroscopic QED and quantum quasinormal-mode quantization, which regularize open, lossy resonators and clarify when loss can be a resource, these developments chart robust, chip-scale routes to room-temperature quantum technologies.
Abstract Quantum nanophotonics places nanoscale structuring in direct dialogue with photonic quantum information—compressing functionality to the few-nanometre, few-femtosecond frontier while retaining energy efficiency, speed and room-temperature operation. We highlight nanoplasmonic cavity-QED architectures in which extreme mode confinement delivers strong coupling under ambient conditions, enabling ultrafast single-photon emission and near-field multipartite entanglement using industry-grade near-field transducers that nanofocus guided light at practical efficiencies. We set these advances against the arc from early plasmonic cQED proposals and single-emitter Purcell studies to modern time-domain measurements that resolve sub-picosecond polariton/Rabi dynamics—establishing a clear route from concept to device. In parallel, we point to low-loss, high-index Mie resonators whose spectrally sharp electric and magnetic modes afford narrow-band coherent control, filtering and radiation-pattern engineering, and which naturally co-integrate in hybrid metal–dielectric stacks that combine ultrastrong local coupling with low-loss routing and storage. Finally, we discuss quantum nanoplasmonic coherent perfect absorption (qnCPA)—a waveguide-fed, non-perturbing protocol that selectively prepares and protects plasmon–emitter dressed states via dissipation-assisted, unidirectional feeding. Together with macroscopic QED and quantum quasinormal-mode quantization, which regularize open, lossy resonators and clarify when loss can be a resource, these developments chart robust, chip-scale routes to room-temperature quantum technologies.
Abstract In recent years, quantum nanophotonics has forged a rich nexus of nanotechnology with photonic quantum information processing, offering remarkable prospects for advancing quantum technologies beyond their current technical limits in terms of physical compactness, energy efficiency, operation speed, temperature robustness and scalability. In this perspective, we highlight a number of recent studies that reveal the especially compelling potential of nanoplasmonic cavity quantum electrodynamics for driving quantum technologies down to nanoscale spatial and ultrafast temporal regimes, whilst elevating them to ambient temperatures. Our perspective encompasses innovative proposals for quantum plasmonic biosensing, driving ultrafast single-photon emission and achieving near-field multipartite entanglement in the strong coupling regime, with a notable emphasis on the use of industry-grade devices. We conclude with an outlook emphasizing how the bespoke characteristics and functionalities of plasmonic devices are shaping contemporary research directives in ultrafast and room-temperature quantum nanotechnologies.
Light-matter superposition states obtained via strong coupling play a decisive role in quantum information processing, but the deleterious effects of material dissipation and environment-induced decoherence inevitably destroy coherent light-matter polaritons over time. Here, we propose the use of coherent perfect absorption under near-field driving to prepare and protect the polaritonic states of a single quantum emitter interacting with a plasmonic nanocavity at room temperature. Our scheme of quantum nanoplasmonic coherent perfect absorption leverages an inherent frequency specificity to selectively initialize the coupled system in a chosen plasmon-emitter dressed state, while the coherent, unidirectional and non-perturbing near-field energy transfer from a proximal plasmonic waveguide can in principle render the dressed state robust against dynamic dissipation under ambient conditions. Our study establishes a previously unexplored paradigm for quantum state preparation and coherence preservation in plasmonic cavity quantum electrodynamics, offering compelling prospects for elevating quantum nanophotonic technologies to ambient temperatures.
Quantum technologies are widely expected to bring a revolution in communications and information technologies in the coming decade allowing, for example, un-paralleled levels of secure communications. For quantum communication, photonic quantum effects have played a central role, but most photonic solutions and systems based on light-matter interaction also require cryogenic environments. Strong coupling of light and matter at the single emitter level is a fundamental quantum resource offering deterministic energy exchange between single photons and a two-level system, and the possibility to achieve single-photon nonlinearities via the anharmonicity of the Jaynes-Cummings ladder. Until recently, however, the conditions for achieving strong-coupling were most commonly met at cryogenic temperatures such that de-coherence processes are suppressed. As a major step forward, we have recently demonstrated room-temperature strong coupling of single molecules [1] and single quantum dots [2] to ultra-confined light fields in plasmonic resonators at ambient conditions. The fact that strong-coupling conditions may be reached at room temperature is of immense interest because it represents a clear route to a practical implementation and use of quantum behaviour in nanophotonic systems and its application in bio-sensing [3]. The talk will discuss how nanoplasmonics can be an enabler of ultrafast room-temperature quantum nanophotonic networks via strong coupling and ultrafast quantum dynamics [4]. We will highlight the physics associated with recently demonstrated room-temperature strong coupling of single molecules in a plasmonic nano-cavity [1] and near-field generated strong coupling of single quantum dots [2] and single quantum emitter Dicke enhancement [5] paving the road towards single-photon quantum nonlinearities. The presentation will also explain near-field enhanced single-photon emission in near-zero index materials [6] and ultrafast multi-partite quantum entanglement [7]. This provides the foundation for unprecedented control over photon number, single photon dynamics, and dynamic multi-photon coherence. These properties are all imperative for the development of next-generation, nanoscale building blocks in ambient-temperature photonic quantum communication technologies.
The unprecedented pace of evolution in nanoscale architectures for cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED) has posed crucial challenges for theory, where the quantum dynamics arising from the non-perturbative dressing of matter by cavity electric and magnetic fields as well as the fundamentally non-Hermitian character of the system are to be treated without significant approximation. The lossy electromagnetic resonances of photonic, plasmonic, or magnonic nanostructures are described as quasinormal modes (QNMs), whose properties and interactions with quantum emitters and spin qubits are central to the understanding of dissipative nano-optics and magnetodielectric cQED. Despite recent advancements toward a fully quantum framework for QNMs, a general and universally accepted approach to QNM quantization for arbitrary linear media remains elusive. In this work, we introduce a unified theoretical framework, based on macroscopic QED and complex coordinate transformations, which achieves QNM quantization for a wide class of spatially inhomogeneous, dissipative and dispersive, linear, magnetodielectric resonators. The complex coordinate transformations equivalently convert the radiative losses into non-radiative material dissipation, and via a suitable transformation that reflects all the losses of the resonator, we define creation and annihilation operators that allow the construction of modal Fock states for the joint excitations of field-dressed matter. By directly addressing the intricacies of modal loss in a fully quantum theory of magnetodielectric cQED, our approach enables the exploration of modern, quantum nano-optical experiments utilizing dielectric, plasmonic, magnetic, or hybrid cQED architectures and paves the way toward a rigorous assessment of room-temperature, quantum nanophotonic technologies without recourse to ad hoc quantization schemes.
Abstract This review discusses how nanophotonic architectures—including plasmonic nanostructures, dielectric resonators, optical cavities, and multi-emitter assemblies—provide powerful platforms for engineering light–matter interactions and controlling decoherence, dissipation, and collective mode formation. Within the framework of open quantum systems, decoherence arises from the coupling of a quantum system to its environment, suppressing phase coherence and transforming quantum superpositions into effectively classical statistical mixtures. Rather than representing an unavoidable limitation, decoherence can be deliberately tailored through the design of structured photonic reservoirs. We examine how the spectral density, symmetry, and coupling topology of these reservoirs govern the emergence of preferred pointer states and collective excitations. In contrast to the far-field geometry of the canonical double-slit experiment, nanophotonic platforms operate in the near-field regime, where localized, collective, and hybridized excitations coexist and interact. We further discuss how nanoparticle dimers, cavity-coupled emitters, and exciton–plasmon systems function as nanoscale which-path discriminators, enabling environmentally driven selection and stabilization of robust eigenmodes, including subradiant states, dark modes, and symmetry-protected excitations. By viewing decoherence as a mechanism for basis selection rather than solely a source of quantum information loss, this review highlights emerging opportunities for quantum state preparation, mode engineering, photonic logic, and scalable light–matter interfaces, providing a unified perspective on harnessing engineered nanophotonic environments to direct quantum dynamics.
Controlling quantum emitters (atoms, molecules, quantum dots, etc.), light, and its interactionsis a key issue for implementing all-optical devices and information processing at thequantum level. This generally necessitates a strong coupling of emitters to photonic modes,as achieved by a high-Q cavity, for efficient manipulation of the atoms and field dynamicsthrough cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED).The integration of the principles of quantum optics at the nanoscale in a plasmonic platformhas been envisioned, on the basis of a possible strong coupling between a quantum emitter andthe surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) via their strong mode confinement. Recent progressshowed the possibility to reach such a strong coupling regime, allowing the development ofquantum plasmonics where a SPP mode takes the role of the cavity mode. However, its applicationappears notoriously limited in practical situations due to the intrinsic presence ofnumerous and lossy modes, which complicates the description and the interpretation of theinteraction, and introduces strong decoherence in the system, in particular for strong coupling.In this work, a detailed overview of quantum control applied to ion trapping, cQED, and plasmonics,is presented. The first part of the thesis is a study of adiabatic processes in trappedion systems and cQED:- We summarize quantum computation processes using quantum gates, and control usingadiabatic laser pulses with atomic systems.- We design arbitrary quantum gates with ions manipulated with laser pulses.- Models for cQED are derived and applied for the production of photon states leakingfrom a cavity.In the second part, we develop a formalism to describe the quantum dynamics of emitters closeto nanoscale structures, and numerics showing the strong coupling regime and the couplingof emitters via plasmon modes. More specifically:- We provide a general field quantization procedure for spherically layered systems.- Effective models using the field quantization are derived, and we show they are analogousto cQED models.- We describe the interaction of localized plasmons (LSPs) with quantum emitters.- The coupling/entanglement of emitters by adiabatic passage through lossy plasmonicmodes of a nanosphere is shown.