Download Abstract n Bio - Prof Arto V Nurmikko

Current Trends in Compact Lasers Spanning the Visible Spectrum Arto V. Nurmikko School of Engineering and Department of Physics Brown University, Providence RI , USA Since the first semiconductor light emitters were discovered 50 years ago, they have become both commonplace and irreplaceable. At visible wavelengths, light emitting diodes LEDs in particular have become commodities ranging in applications from displays to public lighting. Their technically more demanding cousins, semiconductor lasers, are likewise ubiquitous from red laser pointers to Blu‐ray DVDs, but now much more restricted to specific wavelengths only. This talk focuses on contemporary approaches to create compact lasers which can continuously span the full red‐green‐blue visible range. We can contrast existing solid‐state lasers operating by nonlinear wavelength conversion to the direct bandgap semiconductor lasers in terms of material challenges and fundamentals of optical gain and stimulated emission. One useful focus is the potential of lower dimensional semiconductors particularly “zero‐dimensional” nanocrystals (quantum dots), given the established advantages of epitaxially grown single crystal quantum well layered structures. A comparison is made between the radiative recombination processes in the lower dimensional systems in wide bandgap semiconductors on one hand, and contrasting techniques of material synthesis by epitaxial vapor phase means with those grown by the completely orthogonal methods of solution‐based colloidal chemistry. From the sum of several factors, quality of crystal growth, fundamentals of electronic transitions for population inversion for optical gain, optical resonator structures, reliability, and economics, some forecasting can be made about next generations of lasers in the visible. Biography Arto V. Nurmikko, a native of Finland, is a L. Herbert Ballou University Professor of Engineering and Physics at Brown, USA. He received his degrees from University of California, Berkeley, with postdoctoral stays at MIT and Hebrew University. Professor Nurmikko conducts research in neuro‐engineering, brain sciences, nanophotonics and microelectronics, especially for the translation of device research to new technologies in biomedical, life science, and photonics applications. His current interests include development of implantable wireless neural interfaces, nanoscale neural circuit sensors, compact red/green/blue semiconductor lasers, and high resolution acoustic microscopy. Nurmikko has published in several fields (over 350 journal articles), led many multi‐institutional research teams, advised federal funding agencies, and lectured worldwide. Professor Nurmikko is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and Fellow of the Optical Society of America. He has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.