Welcome to the website of the Birgit Stiller Research Group
In my research group, we study the interplay of light waves with sound waves. Both types of waves are very different: light is much faster and can travel through outer space – sound is 100,000 times slower and needs a material such as a solid, gas or liquid to move. Our research leads to new types of data processing with sound waves, applications for secure quantum communications and storage of light information.
Research at a glance
We are an independent Max Planck Research Group, centrally funded by the Max Planck Society. We are experimentalists and our main topics evolve around quantum signal processing and optical computing. Our focus is on light-sound interactions. We use our knowledge spanning from nonlinear optics to quantum communications and from fiber optics to integrated photonics.
The physics of optical waves interacting with acoustic or mechanical vibrations is fascinating because it links two very different domains in terms of frequency, velocity, dissipation and other properties. We explore the interaction experimentally at the classical and quantum level with suitably engineered microstructured fibers and nanowaveguides to manipulate, in this way, light states. Finally, we aim to use the interaction of optical and mechanical waves for applications in quantum technologies and optical neural networks.
Our current research projects focus on the following topics:
- Quantum optoacoustic interactions
- Photonic-phononic storage
- Optoacoustic signal processing for optical neural networks
- Twist and sound: interaction of structured light and structured sound
- Thermodynamics and acoustics
- Magnon-phonon-photon interactions
For more information about our research, please go to news and publications.
Positions available! If you are interested in joining the group as an undergraduate student (Bachelor/Master), PhD student or Postdoc please contact us.
Our Team
Contact
Research Group Birgit Stiller
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
Staudtstr. 2
91058 Erlangen, Germany
Research team leader Prof. Dr. Birgit Stiller
"Let there be sound! Sound waves can be created by light waves and light can be changed by acoustic waves. Connecting both types of waves opens a surprisingly wide field of interesting applications, for example for artificial intelligence, and yet poses open questions at the fundamental level!"