Sasan Fathpour, an assistant professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Optics & Photonics, has received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for his work integrating devices such as laser beam combiners and optical amplifiers on small chips about the width of a staple.
This is Fathpour鈥檚 third NSF Award, but Dean Bahaa Saleh said the CAREER Award is the foundation鈥檚 most prestigious recognition in support of junior faculty members.
Fathpour鈥檚 prize-winning research, Mid-Infrared Photonic Devices and Integrated Circuits on Silicon, involves working with wavelengths beyond visible light that can interact with interesting molecular vibrations of organic materials.聽 One distinction in his study is that the base of silicon chips he works with is made of sapphire, which is a difficult process but very rewarding for achieving miniaturized devices.
鈥淪ilicon on sapphire is a new platform for photonic engineering,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hese are very exotic wafers.鈥�
Someday the photonics research may prove valuable in laser medicine applications such as ophthalmic microsurgery, facial surgery, and tooth cleaning, as well as in biochemical sensing and optical ranging,聽 he said.
The NSF award is for $400,000 over five years.
Fathpour has been at 麻豆原创 three 聽years, and he started working on this project two years ago. He earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan.