See glass in a new light: novel glass materials and devices for on-chip photonic integration

Juejun Hu
University of Delaware

Abstract:
Glasses, the backbone materials for optical lenses and fibers, have long been regarded as the material of choice for optics and photonics given their extremely low optical loss. The latest development of non-silicate-based amorphous glass materials such as chalcogenides and transition metal oxides is extending the application scope of glasses to planar photonics, where they benefit from versatile processing, broadband transparency, as well as superior linear and nonlinear optical properties. In this talk, I will discuss two applications of these glass materials and on-chip devices: mid-infrared photonics for photothermal spectroscopic sensing leveraging the unique thermo-optic properties of glasses, and biocompatible photonic integration on flexible substrates capitalizing on low-temperature monolithic integration and novel micro-mechanical designs.

Bio:
Juejun (JJ) Hu received his PhD from MIT in 2009 and is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Delaware. Dr. Hu’s primary research interest focuses on the enhanced photon-matter interactions in nanophotonic structures, with an emphasis on on-chip spectroscopy and chemical sensing applications using novel infrared glasses. His research also covers materials and devices for opto-mechanics, magneto-optics, photovoltaics and solid state light emitters. Dr. Hu has authored and co-authored over 40 refereed journal publications since 2006 and has been awarded 6 U.S. patents. Dr. Hu is named Francis Alison Young Professor in 2013.