Exploring the analogy between atoms and optical nanoresonators

I will use a few examples to show that the exploration of the analogy between atoms and optical nano-resonators could be quite interesting and useful. In the first example, I will discuss how atoms might help to overcome the most daunting challenges in optical metasurfaces, which promise to revolutionize optical instruments by replacing delicate and expensive lenses with integrated flat components. Then, I will discuss quantum antenna, in an analogy to optical antenna. I will show how to drastically enhance the optical cross section of atoms using topologically nontrivial optical media. Lastly, I will discuss a new class of optically-coupled electrically-isolated photodetector that offers novel capability for photon detection.