Optics and Photonics
Description
The research program in optics and photonics deals with the design, fabrication, and characterization of materials, devices and systems for the generation, transmission, amplification, detection, and processing of light signals. These are enabling and pervasive technologies applied in fields like communications, sensing, bio-medical instrumentation, consumer electronics, and defense.
The department focuses on optical and quantum computing, RF signal
processing, unconventional imaging systems, optical sensors, integrated
optics, nanophotonics, optical interconnects, ultrafast micromachining,
the design and fabrication of semiconductor lasers, and III-V
semiconductor materials and devices.
Graduate Courses
ECEN 5645,
Introduction to Optical Electronics
ECEN 5156,
Physical Optics
ECEN 5166,
Guided Wave Optics
ECEN 5606,
Optoelectronic Laboratory
ECEN 5616,
Optoelectronic System Design
ECEN 5686,
Optical Communications Systems
ECEN 5696,
Fourier Optics
Facilities
Over 15,000 square feet of laboratory facilities include a metal organic chemical vapor deposition system where ultrathin layers of material for optical devices are fabricated, a facility for micro-fabrication and testing of optoelectronic devices, a facility for material characterization, and a facility for fabrication and testing of LiNbO3 devices. There are eight laser laboratories for investigating electro-optic, ultrafast, and nonlinear optical phenomena along with facilities for optoelectronic system design. Extensive computing facilities are used for modeling optical signal processors, optoelectronic devices, nano-structured materials, and light-matter interaction.
Research Topics
Current research topics include optoelectronic computing and signal processing; design, fabrication, and characterization of integrated optical components in a variety of materials; design and characterization of fiber optic (interconnection) networks; design and construction of optical crossbar switches and optical computers; optical associative memories; spatial light modulators; optical artificial intelligence; two- and three-dimensional imaging; optical inspection; neural networks; early sensory processing; amorphous silicon/liquid crystal spatial light modulators; nonlinear optical metrology.
Faculty
F.S. Barnes (Ph.D., Stanford), GaAs devices, fiber optic components.
C. Cogswell (M.Sc., Oregon), wavefront coding and phase-measuring 3D optical microscopy.
R. McLeod (Ph.D., Colorado), hybrid integration of dense optical circuits in 3D, polymer optical waveguides, metrology of weak volume structures via novel microscopy and tomography, volume data storage.
A.R. Mickelson (Ph.D., Caltech), fiber and integrated optics, semiconductor lasers, and microstrip waveguides.
G. Moddel (Ph.D., Harvard), thin films, optoelectronics, solid state materials, optical detectors, infrared detectors, liquid crystals.
W. Park (Ph.D., Georgia Tech), nanoscale photonic materials and devices.
R. Piestun (Ph.D., Israel Institute of Technology), nanophotonics, diffractive optics, space and time pulse shaping, unconventional imaging.
B. VanZeghbroeck (Ph.D., University of Colorado), semiconductors, silicon, wide bandgap semiconductors, silicon carbide devices, bipolar transistors, microfabrication, optoelectronics, photodetectors, nanophotonics, nanotechnology, tenchology enhanced education.
K. Wagner (Ph.D., Caltech), optical computing and signal processing, optical neural networks, optical soliton interactions for switching, ultrafast and multi-spectral techniques, numerical methods, nonlinear optics, acousto-optics, RF photonics and array processing.
Current Research Support
Research support is provided by the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Office, Optoelectronic Data Systems, Coherent Technologies, Office of Naval Research, Perdix, Network Photonics, the University of Nebraska, and the National Reconnaissance Office. The National Science Foundation supports the Optical Science and Engineering Program (OSEP), offering fellowships that provide full support for two years and partial support thereafter. Agilent supports a fellowship for research in photonics.
