Colloquium 2008-04-03

Speaker:

Dan Stancil

Carnegie Mellon University

Title:

Optical Nanocircuits Based on Microwave Analogies

Host:

Masud Mansuripur

Abstract:

There is now considerable interest in the fabrication of optical nanostructures for applications such as optical data storage, microscopy, and communications. In contrast with conventional integrated optics based on dielectric structures, metals are of particular interest owing to the potential for confining optical energy over regions as small as a few tens of nanometers. However, materials approximating “perfect conductors” do not exist at optical wave lengths, and surface Plasmon phenomena often lead to quite unexpected behavior.

In this talk we will examine the behavior of metallic two-conductor transmission lines, rectangular waveguides, and ridge waveguides at optical wavelengths. Procedures for applying Plasmon corrections to the classical microwave relations will be discussed, as a step toward the development of design procedures for optical analogues to microwave circuits. Applications will also be discussed, including the realization of sub-wavelength optical spots for optical data storage.

Bio:

Daniel D. Stancil is Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University in 1976, and the S.M., E.E. and Ph.D. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1978, 1979, and 1981, respectively. Prior to coming to CMU in 1986, he was an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University. At CMU he has served as Associate Department Head and as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Engineering, as well as Thrust Leader for Optical Data Storage in the Data Storage Systems Center. He was a leader in the development of the CMU ECE department's Virtual Laboratory which was a finalist for a 1996 Smithsonian Computerworld Award. Electro-optics technology that he co-developed was recognized with an IR 100 Award and a Photonics Circle of Excellence Award in 1998. Dr. Stancil is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and a past-president of the IEEE Magnetics Society. His research interests include wireless communications, antennas, and applied optics.