Techniques developed in the computer-chip industry

 These nanocavities were filled with silicon dioxide, which is essentially the same as window glass. Unique fabrication methods, based on techniques developed in the computer-chip industry, make it possible to produce millions of these cavities simultaneously, with all of them simultaneously exhibiting this ultrastrong photon-vibration coupling.

Sang-Hyun Oh, a University of Minnesota professor of electrical and computer engineering and the senior author of the study, said, “Others have studied strong coupling of light and matter, but with this new process to engineer a nanometer-sized version of coaxial cables, we are pushing the frontiers of ultrastrong coupling, which means we are discovering new quantum states where matter and light can have very different properties and unusual things start to happen. This ultrastrong coupling of light and atomic vibrations opens up all kinds of possibilities for developing new quantum-based devices or modifying chemical reactions.”

The interaction among light and matter is integral to life on earth—it permits plants to convert sunlight into energy, and it permits us to see objects around us. With wavelengths much longer than what we can see with our eyes, infrared light connects with the vibrations of atoms in materials. For instance, when an object is heated, the atoms that make up the object start vibrating faster, emitting more infrared radiation, empowering thermal imaging or how hard is computer science cameras.