Events Calendar

Light Modulators-Figures of Merit

Speaker: Jacob B Khurgin, Johns Hopkins University

Talk Title: Light Modulators-Figures of Merit

Abstract: We compare characteristics of various modulators of light. Included are semiconductor QW's with band-to-band and intersubband transitions, graphene, two dimensional materials like MoS2 and polymers. The efficiency enhancement using either micro resonators or plasmonic structures is considered as well. The results indicate that the performance of different modulators depends on the very few characteristics of modulator, essentially on the ratio of absorption cross-section of the modulating medium to the waveguide cross-section and none of the currently fashionable 2D materials offer any meaningful improvement over a simple QW modulator. We also show that electro-optic modulators typically offer lower switching energies than all-optical modulators, but still their performance simply cannot match electronic devices.


Biography: Jacob B Khurgin has been a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Johns Hopkins University since he remembers himself, or, more precisely, since 1988. Prior to that he vaguely recalls being a Senior Member of Research Staff at Philips NV where he developed various useful things such as small kitchen appliances, lighting fixtures, display components and systems including 3-D projection TV. Satiated by things useful, Prof. Khurgin had decamped industry for academia to immerse himself into topics of dubious utility yet higher entertainment value. Prof. Khurgin's main area of expertise is difficult to pinpoint as it falls into the gap between optics and solid state electronics. In his 28 years at JHU Prof. Khurgin had made contributions of various degrees of relevance and importance in the fields of nonlinear optics, semiconductor optoelectronic devices, quantum-cascade lasers, optical communications, THz technology, microwave photonics, slow light, plasmonics, laser cooling, opto-mechanics, condensed matter physics, and to other fields that he can no longer recall. Prof Khurgin had authored over 320 technical papers, 500 Conference presentations, 5 book chapters, and 35 patents. More importantly, he is very fond of dogs and bicycles and he is also a Fellow of American Physical Society and Optical Society of America. Prof. Khurgin holds PhD from Polytechnic University of New York (Now elevated to the status of NYU school of Engineering).


Host: Alan Willner, x04664, willner@usc.edu

Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos