About

The Notre Dame Nanophotonics Group in the Department of Electrical Engineering focuses on optical materials and devices that emit, detect, and control optical fields. Our interests include metamaterials, intersubband devices, localized and propagating surface polaritons, mid-infrared intersubband lasers, deep-ultraviolet interband lasers, and more. We are always looking for good graduate students and post-docs.

We have an opening in our group for a post-doctoral researcher with expertise in metamaterial design, fabrication, and characterization. More information can be found here.

Research

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Reststrahlen Optics

The far-IR is arguably one of the few remaining frontiers of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is an extremely challenging wavelength range to work in, with little to no optical infrastructure for either conducting fundamental research or developing optical devices and systems. Our group aims to develop the far-IR, both through the i) demonstration of new approaches to light manipulation and generation to form the foundation of a far-IR optical infrastructure, and in the ii) effort to create a far-IR research infrastructure to better disseminate, encourage, and apply far-IR research.  This work is in collaboration with Prof. Daniel Wasserman (UT Austin) and Prof. Ryan Roeder (UND).

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Metamaterials

Our research interests are devoted to the modeling, fabrication, characterization and integration of optical metamaterials in the visible and mid-infrared.  Our current projects focus on (1) enhancing light-matter interactions in the mid-infrared using sub-diffraction hyperbolic metamaterial resonators, (2) designing and characterizing optical metamaterials based on Mie scattering from 3D lattices of nanoparticles, and (3) implementing super-resolution imaging using 2D metasurfaces.  Our work spans modeling, fabrication, and characterization.  This work is in collaboration with Prof. Paul Bohn (UND), Prof. David Go (UND), and Prof. Greg Timp (UND).

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Deep-ultraviolet Sources

We are working to develop optical materials and devices for the deep-ultraviolet.  The ultimate aim of our research is electrically-injected DUV lasers that emit below 270 nm. Our current efforts focus on measuring the gain and internal quantum efficiency of DUV GaN/AlN and GaN/AlGaN quantum well structures grown via molecular beam epitaxy.   Our work here is a collaboration with Prof. Farhan Rana, Prof. Grace Xing, and Prof. Debdeep Jena at Cornell University. The ultimate aim of our research is electrically-injected DUV that emit below 270 nm. Our current efforts focus on optically characterizing DUV quantum well structures grown via molecular beam epitaxy.

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Group Members

Anthony Hoffman

Anthony Hoffman

PI (CV)

Owen Dominguez

Owen Dominguez

Graduate Student

Galen Harden

Galen Harden

Graduate Student

Junchi Lu

Junchi Lu

Graduate Student

Irfan Khan

Irfan Khan

Graduate Student

Ahmet Cagri Aydinkarahaliloglu

Ahmet Cagri Aydinkarahaliloglu

Graduate Student

John Haug

John Haug

Graduate Student

Dat Le

Dat Le

Graduate Student

Zhaoyuan Fang

Zhaoyuan Fang

Undergraduate Student

News

Monochromatic Multimode Antennas on Epsilon-Near-Zero Materials
March 8, 2019

Our paper on designing and characterizing optical antennas on epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials has been published in Advaced Optical Materials. The manuscript describes how the modes of these optical antennas are drastically altered by the vanishing permittivty of the ENZ substrate. Congratulations to Owen, Junchi, Leland, and Kaijun on work well done! Click here for the manuscript.

Introduction to Quantum Computing in NDEE's The Wire
March 1, 2019

Prof. Hoffman's Introduction to Quantum Computing Course was recently covered in the The Wire, an online portal for current happenings in the Notre Dame EE Department.

Open Position - Postdoctoral Researcher
November 1, 2018

Our group is looking for a motivated researcher with interests in optical metamaterials.  Individuals should have experience in metamaterial design, fabrication, and characterization.  Experience with electron beam lithography and fluorescence liftetime imaging are preferred qualifications.

Welcome Dat!
November 1, 2018

Dat Le has officially joined our laboratory. Welcome to the group Dat!

Congratulations Junchi!
July 24, 2018

Junchi's abstract to the IEEE Photonics Conference has been accepted. Please come see her talk if you are in town. More to follow!

NDnano announces winner of 2018 Seed Grants-Hoffman and Roeder selected
July 16, 2018

The 2018 NDnano Seed Grants have been announced. Profs. Hoffman and Roeder were selected to receive one of four awards for their proposed work on dielectric nanoparticles for the long-wavelength infrared.

Welcome Dat!
June 1, 2018

We are happy to welcome Dat Le to our research group for the summer.  Dat is an incoming first year graduate student joining Notre Dame from U. Conn.  Dat will be working on developing a new Raman system that operates at 532 nm for measuring the Stokes and anti-Stokes emission from electrically-active devices.  Welcome to the group and Notre Dame!

Junchi Lu Awarded SPIE Scholarship
May 25, 2018

Junchi Lu awarded SPIE Optics and Photonics Education Scholarship.  The award is given based on her potential to contribute to optics and photonics.  More information on the award and Junchi can be found in the press release.

Congratulations Leland et al.!
August 30, 2017

Congratulations to Leland, Owen, Kaijun, and Andy for their manuscript, "Mid-infrared epsilon-near-zero modes in ultra-thin phononic films," that was published in Applied Physics Letters.