1. Home
  2. About Us
  3. MPL People
  4. Tobias Utikal

Dr. Tobias Utikal

  • Wissenschaftlicher Referent (Research Coordinator)
  • Room: A.3.232
  • Telephone: +49 9131 7133316
  • E-mail

My research interest ranges from cryogenic Nano-Quantum-Optics with single emitters to Nano-Bio-Photonics using iSCAT microscopy. As research coordinator of the division I am involved in many research projects pushing the experiments forward, coordinating resources, and preserving the knowledge in the group. In various exploratory side-projects I am breaking new ground for future experiments.

I am always interested in the latest technology developments of narrow-band lasers, cryogenics, nano-positioning, microscopy at and beyond the diffraction limit, single photon detectors, and scientific cameras.

2017

Coherent Coupling of a Single Molecule to a Scanning Fabry-Perot Microcavity

Daqing Wang, Hrishikesh Kelkar, Diego-Martin Cano, Tobias Utikal, Stephan Goetzinger, Vahid Sandoghdar

Physical Review X 7 021014 (2017) | Journal

Organic dye molecules have been used in a great number of scientific and technological applications, but their wider use in quantum optics has been hampered by transitions to short-lived vibrational levels, which limit their coherence properties. To remedy this, one can take advantage of optical resonators. Here, we present the first results on coherent molecule-resonator coupling, where a single polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecule extinguishes 38% of the light entering a microcavity at liquid helium temperature. We also demonstrate fourfold improvement of single-molecule stimulated emission compared to free-space focusing and take first steps for coherent mechanical manipulation of the molecular transition. Our approach of coupling molecules to an open and tunable microcavity with a very low mode volume and moderately low quality factors of the order of 10(3) paves the way for the realization of nonlinear and collective quantum optical effects.

Chip-Based All-Optical Control of Single Molecules Coherently Coupled to a Nanoguide

Pierre Tuerschmann, Nir Rotenberg, Jan Renger, Irina Harder, Olga Lohse, Tobias Utikal, Stephan Goetzinger, Vahid Sandoghdar

Nano Letters 17 4941-4945 (2017) | Journal

The feasibility of many proposals in nano quantum-optics depends on the efficient coupling of photons to individual quantum emitters, the possibility to control this interaction on demand, and the scalability of the experimental platform. To address these issues, we report on chip-based systems made of one-dimensional subwavelength dielectric waveguides (nanoguides) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules. We discuss the design and fabrication requirements, present data on extinction spectroscopy of single molecules coupled to a nanoguide mode, and show how an external optical beam can switch the propagation of light via a nonlinear optical process. The presented architecture paves the way for the investigation of many-body phenomena and polaritonic states and can be readily extended to more complex geometries for the realization of quantum integrated photonic circuits.

Tobias Utikal studied Physics at University of Bonn from 2001 to 2007. For his Diploma thesis on “Ultrafast Spectroscopy of Metallic Photonic Crystals” he moved to University of Stuttgart where he worked in the group of Prof. Harald Giessen. The following PhD thesis on “Ultrafast Nonlinear Spectroscopy of Hybrid Plasmonic Systems” he partially conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart. In 2011 he joined the Group of Prof. Vahid Sandoghdar at ETH Zurich as a postdoc. After the move of the group to the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) in Erlangen he became a permanent senior scientist and is acting as research coordinator of the division. In his function as safety officer he is member of the work safety council of the institute. Tobias has been elected as the scientific staff representative of MPL from 2015 – 2021.

MPL Research Centers and Schools

© Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light

Data Collection

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.

Get more info about used cookies
Cookie optin by Olli machts