Seminar: "OPA driven by thin-disk lasers" by Knut Michel, 1.27.17/1:30PM-2:30PM/CREOL RM 103

Seminar: "OPA driven by thin-disk lasers" by Knut Michel

Friday, February 3, 2017 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM
CREOL Room 103

Knut Michel

Abstract:Optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers (OPCPA) have emerged as a powerful tool for generating broadband few-cycle light pulses. They have the potential to generate such pulses at the multi-mJ level.
During the last decade OPCPA based systems have gained increasing recognition in the field of ultrafast science. These systems are used for high harmonic generation (HHG) and the generation of isolated attosecond pulses. Higher repetition rate systems can be found in applications like photoemission electron microscopy or target recoil ion momentum spectroscopy. These applications strongly benefit from kHz repetition rates due to reduced integration times and an improved signal-to-noise ratio. One main part of an OPCPA system is the pump laser. The OPCPA performance and stability is directly linked to the quality of its pump beam. In this talk we will present the latest developments in picosecond thin-disk laser technology and its usage as a powerful and scalable pump for OPCPA systems and other applications.

Biography:Knut Michel is the Managing Director of TRUMPF Scientific Lasers, a joint venture between the TRUMPF Group and Professor Ferenc Krausz, Managing Director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching.
Previously Knut Michel worked as the personal assistant to TRUMPF Managing Partner and head of the business unit laser technology and electronics Dr.-Ing. E. h. Peter Leibinger who is one of the owners of the TRUMPF company.

Knut Michel studied Physics at Technical University in Darmstadt and received his PhD in the field of laser and plasma physics. The focus of his work was laser-accelerated ion beams.

For additional information:

Shermineh Rostami Fairchild

Seminar: "Flat Nanophotonics: Controlling Light at the Nanoscale with Plasmonics and Metasurfaces" by Dr. Koray Aydin, 2.2.17/11:00AM-12:00PM/CREOL RM 103

Seminar: "Flat Nanophotonics: Controlling Light at the Nanoscale with Plasmonics and Metasurfaces" by Dr. Koray Aydin

Thursday, February 2, 2017 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
CREOL Room 103

Dr. Koray Aydin

Abstract:

Nanophotonic materials and devices facilitate strong light-matter interactions at subwavelength scales, thus providing unique opportunities to control and manipulate photons. In this talk, I will present visible frequency metasurfaces for broadband phase control and anomalous reflection, spectrum splitting using metallic metasurfaces enabled by phase engineering at the subwavelength scale. I will also present two different approaches for obtaining narrow-band resonant absorption filters at visible wavelengths. First structure is based on the surface lattice resonances in periodic nanowire and nanoring arrays fabricated on a reflecting metallic substrate. As a second approach, I will briefly mention strong interference effects in unstructured continuous metal-insulator-metal filters. Enhanced photoluminescence enhancement from a single monolayer MoS2 via plasmonic nanostructures will also be discussed. 2D layered materials received great attention due to their unique optical, electrical and mechanical properties however, due to their thickness light-matter interactions is rather weak. We utilize plasmonic nanostructures to strongly enhance electric fields locally at subwavelength scales therefore facilitating increased light emission and absorption in 2D semiconducting materials.

Biography:

Dr. Koray Aydin is an Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at Northwestern University and leading the Metamaterials and Nanophotonic Devices Laboratory. He has received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from the Bilkent University in 2002 and 2008, respectively. During his PhD, he studied novel electromagnetic phenomena, such as negative refraction, subwavelength imaging, and enhanced transmission, in microwave metamaterials and photonic crystals. He has worked as a postdoctoral researcher between 2008-2010 and a research scientist between 2010-2011 at the California Institute of Technology under the supervision of Prof. Harry Atwater. Dr. Aydin’s postdoctoral research has focused on the experimental and theoretical investigation of active optical metamaterials and functional plasmonic nanostructures. His research interests are in the general area of nanophotonics, with a specific focus towards the realization of nanophotonic devices for use in energy conversion, and biosensing applications. Dr. Aydin is an Associate Member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences and the recipient of the SPIE Educational Scholarship in 2007.

For additional information:

Ryan Gelfand

NSTC/CREOL Distinguished Seminar Series: "The Unprecedented Promise of Perovskite Solar Cells for Cheap Renewable Energy" by Nitin Padture, 1.27.17/11:00AM-12:00PM/CREOL RM 103

NSTC/CREOL Distinguished Seminar Series: "The Unprecedented Promise of Perovskite Solar Cells for Cheap Renewable Energy" by Nitin Padture

Friday, January 27, 2017 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
CREOL Room 103

Nitin Padture, Ph.D.Director of the Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation
Otis E. Randall University Professor of Engineering
Brown University

Abstract:

Solution-processed thin-film perovskite solar cells (PSCs), where the record efficiency has rocketed from 3.8% to 22.1% in just 7 years, offer unprecedented promise of low-cost, high-efficiency renewable electricity generation. Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites are at the heart of PSCs, where the reliable deposition of their high-quality thin films over large areas is critically important. Fundamental phenomena pertaining to crystallization, coarsening, and microstructural evolution involved in the solution-processing of perovskite thin films for PSCs will be discussed with specific examples. The overall goal of our research is to have deterministic control over scalable solution-processing of tailored perovskite thin films with desired microstructures for high-efficiency PSCs. Challenges that lay in the path of PSCs deployment will be discussed, together with the opportunities PSCs offer.

Biography:

Nitin P. Padture is the Otis E. Randall University Professor (designate) in the School of Engineering, and Director of the Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation, at Brown University. Previously he was the College of Engineering Distinguished Professor and founding Director of the NSF-funded Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at the Ohio State University. Padture’s research and teaching interests are in the broad areas of synthesis/processing, characterization, and properties/performance of advanced ceramics and nanomaterials used in applications ranging from jet engines to computer chips to solar cells. He has published some 180 papers and patents, which have been cited about 12,000 times, and he has presented 190 invited/keynote/plenary talks in the US and abroad. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Padture is the recipient of several awards from professional societies.

For additional information:

Jayan Thomas, Ph.D.

OSA Student Chapter Alumni Talk: "Optimizing Super-Resolution Microscopy for High-Throughput Imaging and Cell Biology" by Kyle Douglass, 1.9.17/12:00PM-1:00PM/CREOL RM 103

OSA Student Chapter Alumni Talk: "Optimizing Super-Resolution Microscopy for High-Throughput Imaging and Cell Biology" by Kyle Douglass

Monday, January 9, 2017 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
CREOL Room 103

Kyle Douglass

Abstract:

The shift in cell biology from an observational science to a more rigorous and quantitative approach was—and continues to be—driven by the development of technologies that can probe the molecular foundations of life. Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy is one such technology, enabling scientists to visualize structures inside cells with a high degree of specificity and resolutions approaching nanometer length scales. Far from being of limited applicability, super-resolution is now used in many areas of cell biology, from membrane dynamics to single molecule tracking.

Despite its continued adoption by biologists, there remain however many problems that super-resolution is currently ill-suited to address, such as resolving the structure of very dense and heterogeneous protein complexes or accounting for cell-to-cell variability. Overcoming these problems requires biologists, computer scientists, and physicists to work together and to leverage each others' expertise. In this talk, I will discuss how I am using my education in optics and working directly with biologists to build an automated, high-throughput, super-resolution system capable of imaging hundreds of cells with nanometer-scale resolutions in a matter of hours. This system solves the problems described above by more than quadrupling the imaged area over that of similar microscopes and ensuring that the resolution is uniform across the field of view. By combining the resulting big data sets with computational modeling, we are building an understanding of how proteins are packaged together inside an organelle called the centriole and how DNA is folded inside the nucleus.

Biography:

Kyle Douglass began his studies at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, achieving the bachelor of science degree in engineering physics in May, 2007. He began his PhD studies at CREOL immediately afterwards, joining the lab of Professor Aristide Dogariu. While at CREOL, he worked on a number of projects related to optical sensing and control of random media, such as helping to develop a low-coherence, fiber-optics based interferometer for probing microscope relaxation times in blood and other biopolymers.

Following the completion of his PhD in August, 2013, he moved to the Laboratory of Experimental Biophysics at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), which is led by Professor Suliana Manley. He is currently working directly with biologists and chemists to develop high-throughput microscopy systems for studying the structural biology of the centriole and bacterial shape dynamics. His development of a large field of view, automated STORM microscope was recently published and is now enabling his lab and collaborators to obtain unprecedented views of cell-to-cell variability at nanometer length scales.

For Additional information:

Midya Parto