This dissertation focuses on extending the application scope of surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy to gas sensing. The method we propose is incorporating plasmonic nanostructures with nano-composite material, metalorganic framework, which can selectively preconcentrate certain gas molecules into the nanopores. The preconcentrating property is first demonstrated by applying metal-organic framework...
This work expands the field of indoor free-space optical communication by introducing novel techniques in short range optical communication. The increasing need for high bandwidth communication necessitates the transition to optical frequencies with hundreds of terahertz worth of unregulated bandwidth. Optical communication offers an inherent security advantage over traditional communications...
This dissertation focuses on the application of diatom frustules, the biosilica shell of an algae possessing physical and photonic properties capable of enhancing optical signals, for the enhancement of optical sensing. In this work, we incorporate diatom frustules into biosensors for signal enhancement and improved target molecule detection. The potential...
With the rapid growth of worldwide internet traffic in data centers and clouds, silicon photonics has been utilized to provide enormous data bandwidth and outstanding energy efficiency over electronics. Computing servers and storage servers that are connected by communication links are relying more on optical rather than electrical means mainly...
This dissertation focuses on the development of ultra-compact optical devices for free-space modulation. We propose a surface-normal modulator using metallic photonic crystals for free-space optical interconnects. The active control of light intensity is achieved by engineering the Fano resonances in metallic photonic crystals. Both thermo-optic modulation and electro-optic modulation of...
Triangulateration uses geometric distance to estimate the location of user by employing techniques like received signal strength (RSS), time-of-arrival (TOA), time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) and image processing.
Radio frequency (RF) signal positioning using TOA or TDOA techniques generally requires timing synchronization of the anchors and/or the anchors and targets. If the desired...
Modern communication systems often have the ability to transmit signals on multiple communication mediums (e.g., RF, visible light) or interfaces (e.g., MAC layer protocols) at the same time. While each channel has different characteristics, a centralized controller with channel condition information will be able to schedule the resource allocated to...
Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is an enabling technique for many new micro- and nanoscale technologies. The self-limiting surface chemical reactions by which ALD fundamentally operates give rise to uniquely high precision (atomic) control over deposited film thickness, uniformity over large areas, and conformality over complex and extreme topographies. One such...
As one of the most popular data types, the point cloud is widely used in various appli- cations, including computer vision, computer graphics and robotics. The capability to directly measure 3D point clouds is invaluable in those applications as depth information could remove a lot of the segmentation ambiguities in...
Due to a lack of grain boundaries, an amorphous metal thin film (AMTF) possesses advantageous mechanical properties and enhanced chemical stability that is potentially useful for thermal inkjet (TIJ) printing applications. The use of an AMTF as a TIJ resistor or cavitation plate could lead to a thinner TIJ cavitation...