June 3, 2022

Title: Seeing glass in a new light: reimagine chalcogenide photonics

 

Speaker: Prof. Juejun Hu, 

                Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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Abstract: Chalcogenide glasses (ChGs), a broad family of inorganic amorphous materials containing sulfur, selenium, and/or tellurium, are rapidly gaining recognition as an essential material for nanophotonics. In this talk, I will discuss the key attributes of ChGs that underlie their widespread use in photonics: 1) broadband infrared transparency which enables spectroscopic detection of chemical molecules; 2) large optical nonlinearity which allows on-chip light source integration leveraging nonlinear frequency generation; 3) substrate agnostic integration capacity facilitating monolithic integration on unconventional substrate platforms including polymers, 2-D materials and magneto-optical crystals; and 4) unique phase change characteristics which opens up exciting opportunities for dynamically reconfigurable optics and photonics.