From Super-Resolution Imaging to Quantum Emitters: Engineering Light at the Nanoscale

Light is both a probe and a platform for engineering at the nanoscale. In this talk, I will describe my research journey across three systems that use light in fundamentally different ways. I will begin with expansion microscopy and dSTORM super-resolution imaging, where we physically and computationally overcome the diffraction limit to visualize biological structures with nanometer precision. I will then discuss lanthanide-doped nanoparticles studied via cathodoluminescence, highlighting how energy migration and surface effects govern emission at the nanoscale. Finally, I will introduce my current work on color centers in silicon, where atomic-scale defects are engineered to act as stable single-photon emitters for quantum photonics applications. Together, these projects illustrate how understanding and controlling light-matter interactions enables both high-resolution imaging and the development of next-generation quantum materials.

Speaker: Jimmy Hsu, Ph.D. student in Engineering Sciences (2024–present) at the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University.