The Boston University Photonics Center annual report 2016-2017

This repository item contains an annual report that summarizes activities of the Boston University Photonics Center in the 2016-2017 academic year. The report provides quantitative and descriptive information regarding photonics programs in education, interdisciplinary research, business innovation, and technology development. The Boston University Photonics Center (BUPC) is an interdisciplinary hub for education, research, scholarship, innovation, and technology development associated with practical uses of light.This has undoubtedly been the Photonics Center’s best year since I became Director 10 years ago. In the following pages, you will see highlights of the Center’s activities in the past year, including more than 100 notable scholarly publications in the leading journals in our field, and the attraction of more than 22 million dollars in new research grants/contracts. Last year I had the honor to lead an international search for the first recipient of the Moustakas Endowed Professorship in Optics and Photonics, in collaboration with ECE Department Chair Clem Karl. This professorship honors the Center’s most impactful scholar and one of the Center’s founding visionaries, Professor Theodore Moustakas. We are delighted to haveawarded this professorship to Professor Ji-Xin Cheng, who joined our faculty this year.The past year also marked the launch of Boston University’s Neurophotonics Center, which will be allied closely with the Photonics Center. Leading that Center will be a distinguished new faculty member, Professor David Boas. David and I are together leading a new Neurophotonics NSF Research Traineeship Program that will provide $3M to promote graduate traineeships in this emerging new field. We had a busy summer hosting NSF Sites for Research Experiences for Undergraduates, Research Experiences for Teachers, and the BU Student Satellite Program. As a community, we emphasized the theme of “Optics of Cancer Imaging” at our annual symposium, hosted by Darren Roblyer. We entered a five-year second phase of NSF funding in our Industry/University Collaborative Research Center on Biophotonic Sensors and Systems, which has become the centerpiece of our translational biophotonics program. That I/UCRC continues to focus on advancing the health care and medical device industries

Foundry-Enabled Scalable All-to-All Optical Interconnects Using Silicon Nitride Arrayed Waveguide Router Interposers and Silicon Photonic Transceivers

This paper summarizes our latest results of integrated all-to-all optical interconnect systems using compact, low-loss silicon nitride (SiN) arrayed waveguide grating router (AWGR) through AIM photonics' multiple-project-wafer services. In particular, we have designed, taped out, and initially characterized a chip-scale silicon photonic low-latency interconnect optical network switch (Si-LIONS) system with an 8 × 8 200 GHz spacing cyclic SiN AWGR, 64 microdisk modulators, and 64 on-chip germanium photodector (PD). The 8 × 8 SiN AWGR in design has a measured insertion loss of 1.8 dB and a crosstalk of -13 dB, with a footprint of 1.3 mm × 0.9 mm. We measured an error-free performance of the microdisk modulator at 10 Gb/s upon 1Vpp voltage swing. We demonstrated wavelength routing with error-free data transmission using the on-chip modulator, SiN AWGR, and an external PD. We have designed and taped out the optical interposer version of the all-to-all system using SiN waveguides and low-loss chip-to-interposer couplers. Finally, we illustrate our preliminary designs and results of 16 × 16 and 32 × 32 SiN AWGRs, and discuss the possibility of scaling beyond 1024 × 1024 all-to-all interconnections with reduced number of wavelengths (e.g., 64) using the Thin-CLOS architecture

Agenda: Second International Workshop on Thin Films for Electronics, Electro-Optics, Energy and Sensors (TFE3S)

University of Dayton’s Center of Excellence for Thin Film Research and Surface Engineering (CETRASE) is delighted to organize its second international workshop at the University of Dayton’s Research Institute (UDRI) campus in Dayton, Ohio, USA. The purpose of the new workshop is to exchange technical knowledge and boost technical and educational collaboration activities within the thin film research community through our CETRASE and the UDRI

Earth Abundant Thin Film Technology for Next Generation Photovoltaic Modules

With a cumulative generation capacity of over 100 GW, Photovoltaics (PV) technology is uniquely poised to become increasingly popular in the coming decades. Although, several breakthroughs have propelled PV technology, it accounts for only less than 1% of the energy produced worldwide. This aspect of the PV technology is primarily due to the somewhat high cost per watt, which is dependent on the efficiency of the PV cells as well as the cost of manufacturing and installing them. Currently, the efficiency of the PV conversion process is limited to about 25% for commercial terrestrial cells; improving this efficiency can increase the penetration of PV worldwide rapidly. A critical review of all possibilities pursued in the public domain reveals serious shortcomings and manufacturing issues. To make PV generated power a reality in every home, a Multi-Junction Multi-Terminal (MJMT) PV architecture can be employed combining silicon and another earth abundant material. However, forming electronic grade thin films of earth abundant materials is a non-trivial challenge; without solving this, it is impossible to increase the overall PV efficiency. Deposition of Copper (I) Oxide, an earth abundant semiconducting material, was conducted using an optimized Photo assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition process. X-Ray Diffraction, Ellipsometry, Transmission Electron Microscopy, and Profilometry revealed that the films composed of Cu2O of about 90 nm thickness and the grain size was as large as 600 nm. This result shows an improvement in material properties over previously grown thin films of Cu2O. Measurement of I-V characteristics of a diode structure composed of the Cu2O indicates an increase in On/Off ratio to 17,000 from the previous best value of 800. These results suggest that the electronic quality of the thin films deposited using our optimized process to be better than the results reported elsewhere. Using this optimized thin film forming technique, it is now possible to create a complete MJMT structure to improve the terrestrial commercial PV efficiency

Graphene and Beyond: Recent Advances in Two-Dimensional Materials Synthesis, Properties, and Devices

Since the isolation of graphene in 2004, two-dimensional (2D) materials research has rapidly evolved into an entire subdiscipline in the physical sciences with a wide range of emergent applications. The unique 2D structure offers an open canvas to tailor and functionalize 2D materials through layer number, defects, morphology, moir\ue9 pattern, strain, and other control knobs. Through this review, we aim to highlight the most recent discoveries in the following topics: theory-guided synthesis for enhanced control of 2D morphologies, quality, yield, as well as insights toward novel 2D materials; defect engineering to control and understand the role of various defects, including in situ and ex situ methods; and properties and applications that are related to moir\ue9 engineering, strain engineering, and artificial intelligence. Finally, we also provide our perspective on the challenges and opportunities in this fascinating field

Design and Fabrication of Scalable Multifunctional Multimaterial Fibers and Textiles

Multimaterial fibers eschew the traditional mono-material structures typical of traditional optical fibers for novel internal architectures that combine disparate materials with distinct optical, mechanical, and electronic properties, thereby enabling novel optoelectronic functionalities delivered in the form factor of an extended fiber. This new class of fibers developed over the past two decades is attracting interest from researchers in such different fields as optics, textiles, and biomedicine. The juxtaposition of multiple materials integrated at micro- and nanoscales in complex geometries while ensuring intimate smooth interfaces extending continuously for kilometers facilitates unique applications such as non-invasive laser surgery, self-monitoring fibers, e-textiles, and extreme-environment tethers. In this work, I focus on the scalable manufacturing of novel multimaterial fibers that make possible the fabrication of hundreds of kilometers of optical micro-cables and producing fibers at volumes commensurate with the needs of the textile and apparel industry. Although a multiplicity of fabrication schemes exists, I have investigated thermal drawing and melt-extrusion for thermo-forming of multimaterial fibers. Such fibers can be readily integrated with a broad range of downstream processes and techniques, such as textile weaving, precision-winding of fiber micro-cables, and inline functional coating. Specifically, I have developed a hybrid fabrication approach to produce robust optical fibers for single-mode and multi-mode mid-infrared transmission with the added possibility of high-power-handling capability. Second, I describe an optoelectronic fiber in which an electrically conductive composite glass is thermally co-drawn in a transparent glass matrix with a crystalline semiconductor and metallic conductors, which is the first fully integrated thermally drawn optoelectronic fiber making use of a traditional semiconductor. Third, I appropriate the industry-proven system of multicomponent melt-extrusion traditionally utilized for the scalable production of textile yarns and non-woven fabrics to produce our multimaterial fiber structures previously fabricated via thermal drawing. This has enabled melt-spinning of user-controlled color-changing fibers that are subsequently woven into active color-changing fabrics. I additionally report the design and prototyping of structured capacitive fibers for potential integration into advanced functional e-textiles. Finally, I have produced a new class of optical scattering materials based on designer composite microspheres by exploiting a recently discovered capillary instability in multimaterial fibers produced by thermal drawing, multifilament yarn spinning, and melt-extruded non-woven fabrics

Review on the development of truly portable and in-situ capillary electrophoresis systems

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a technique which uses an electric field to separate a mixed sample into its constituents. Portable CE systems enable this powerful analysis technique to be used in the field. Many of the challenges for portable systems are similar to those of autonomous in-situ analysis and therefore portable systems may be considered a stepping stone towards autonomous in-situ analysis. CE is widely used for biological and chemical analysis and example applications include: water quality analysis; drug development and quality control; proteomics and DNA analysis; counter-terrorism (explosive material identification) and corrosion monitoring. The technique is often limited to laboratory use, since it requires large electric fields, sensitive detection systems and fluidic control systems. All of these place restrictions in terms of: size, weight, cost, choice of operating solutions, choice of fabrication materials, electrical power and lifetime. In this review we bring together and critique the work by researchers addressing these issues. We emphasize the importance of a holistic approach for portable and in-situ CE systems and discuss all the aspects of the design. We identify gaps in the literature which require attention for the realization of both truly portable and in-situ CE systems