Dr. Eden from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has invented a new type of laser capable of creating thousands of near-perfect beams and combining them into...
Dr. Eden from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has invented a new type of laser capable of creating thousands of near-perfect beams and combining them into one high energy beam.
This new laser has significant applications in manufacturing, defense, and research.
Prof. Wasserman and Prof. Gong from the ECE department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, have partnered to develop a new sensor for infrared light...
Prof. Wasserman and Prof. Gong from the ECE department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, have partnered to develop a new sensor for infrared light. Combining the specific wavelength absorption of metamaterials and high sensitivity to temperature of laterally vibrating resonators, they have created new IR sensors that specifically detect target wavelengths, are 100X more sensitive than current detectors, and also are compatible to standard CMOS fabrication. These new IR sensors could be used in many different applications ranging from thermal detection, spectroscopy, or gas sensing.
Publications: Gong, Songbin, Nai-Kuei Kuo, and Gianluca Piazza. "A 1.75 GHz piezoelectrically-transduced SiC lateral overmoded bulk acoustic-wave resonator." Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems Conference (TRANSDUCERS), 2011 16th International. IEEE, 2011. Mason, Joshua, et al. "Strong coupling of molecular and mid-infrared perfect absorber resonances." Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE 24.1 (2012): 31-33. Mason, J. A., S. Smith, and D. Wasserman. "Strong absorption and selective thermal emission from a midinfrared metamaterial." Applied Physics Letters98.24 (2011): 241105
Dr. Paul Braun from the University of IL has developed a novel method for forming tunable gradient refractive index optical elements. He has achieved very high changes in...
Dr. Paul Braun from the University of IL has developed a novel method for forming tunable gradient refractive index optical elements. He has achieved very high changes in RI over very short distances. The innovation can be made with standard semiconductor manufacturing equipment and processes.
Drs. Ying Diao and Fengjiao Zhang have developed an electrically triggered shape memory device that mimics a venus flytrap to capture moving or still objects. This...
Drs. Ying Diao and Fengjiao Zhang have developed an electrically triggered shape memory device that mimics a venus flytrap to capture moving or still objects. This technology combines the shape memory polymers and the pressure sensors. It can be 3D printed, miniaturized and flexibly mounted on arbitrary shaped surfaces.
Dr. Milton Feng, from the University of Illinois, has developed single mode Oxide-VCSELs that are able to transmit data signals over longer distances, at higher speeds...
Dr. Milton Feng, from the University of Illinois, has developed single mode Oxide-VCSELs that are able to transmit data signals over longer distances, at higher speeds and with better fidelity than previously possible. Using self-aligned oxidation procedure they are able to uniformly oxidize the mode selective aperture layer and achieve higher transmission rates without sacrificing fidelity. VCSELs are important for use in 3D biosensors, consumer electronics as well as industrial cutting.
Dr. Dragic from the University of Illinois has developed an optical fiber for high-powered fiber laser applications. This fiber is specifically designed with the thermal...
Dr. Dragic from the University of Illinois has developed an optical fiber for high-powered fiber laser applications. This fiber is specifically designed with the thermal mode instability problem in mind. This fiber remains single-moded at normal operating temperatures, which enhances beam quality and power efficiency of the laser.
By doping the fiber core with a specific composition of rare-earth fibers, the refractive index of the core increases more slowly with increasing temperature, when compared to the refractive index of the cladding. This effect allows the optical fiber to maintain single-mode transmission at high temperatures.
Benefit
Improves energy efficiency of high-power fiber lasers.
Capturing polarized and visible light simultaneously is usually achieved by either rotating filters that reduce frame rate and need a static image or using an array of...
Capturing polarized and visible light simultaneously is usually achieved by either rotating filters that reduce frame rate and need a static image or using an array of sensors that must be aligned and can be bulkily and expensive. These issues are solved by Dr. Viktor Gruev's invention of a single chip that can detect both kinds of light simultaneously with high resolution and in real time. This sensor can detect 12 bands of visible light and 3 bands of polarized light. Because data is gathered in real time and does not require rotating filters, this sensor has applications in military surveillance, particularly in hazy conditions such as fog or underwater where polarized imaging can reduce background scattering information. Additionally, this sensor can be used in image-guided surgery, such as tumor removal used in combination with injected dyes that bind to cancerous cells that respond to different kinds of light.
