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Physics Seminar

Controlling nonlinear dynamics of complex lasers

Speaker: Prof Hui Cao (Yale University)
Date: Wednesday 5 May 2021
Time: 15:00
Venue: Zoom

Nonlinear light-matter interactions induce irregular pulsations and filamentation in high-power multi-mode lasers. To control the nonlinear interactions between the lasing modes and the gain material, we manipulate the spatial structure of cavity resonances and vary their characteristic length scales. By tailoring the cavity geometry of a broad-area laser, we are able to disrupt the coherent nonlinear processes that form self-organized structures and cause temporal instabilities. With spatio-temporal instabilities suppressed, we utilize the spatio-temporal interference of numerous lasing modes to achieve massively-parallel ultrafast random bit generation with a chip-scale laser diode.

Bio: Hui Cao is the John C. Malone Professor of Applied Physics, a professor of Physics, and a professor of Electrical Engineering at Yale University. She received her Ph.D. degree in Applied Physics from Stanford University in 1997. Prior to joining the Yale faculty in 2008, she was on the faculty of Northwestern University from 1997 to 2007. Her technical interests and activities are in the areas of mesoscopic physics, complex photonic materials and devices, nanophotonics, and biophotonics. She authored or co-authored one monograph, twelve book-chapters, seven review articles and 264 journal papers. She is a Fellow of the APS, OSA, AAAS and IEEE.