ECE Seminar Speaker - Yoshitomo Okawachi

On-Chip Nonlinear Photonics

Yoshitomo Okawachi Research Scientist, Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University

Faculty Host:Michelle Sander

Refreshments at 10:45 am

Abstract: Over the past decade, the development of CMOS-compatible silicon technology has provided a novel platform for nonlinear optical interactions, offering a path towards chip-scale nonlinear photonic devices for applications including spectroscopy, frequency metrology, and optical computing. The high optical confinement achieved in the silicon-based platform allows for large effective nonlinearities along with the ability to tailor the dispersion of the device, which is essential for phase-matched parametric nonlinear interactions such as four-wave mixing (FWM). In this talk, I will discuss applications of nonlinear interactions in silicon and silicon nitride waveguides and microresonators, including frequency comb generation and quantum random number generation.

Bio: Yoshitomo Okawachi received his B.S. degree in Engineering Physics in 2002 and his Ph.D. in Applied Physics in 2008, both from Cornell University. He is currently a Research Scientist in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics at Columbia University. His research areas include optical frequency comb generation in silicon-based waveguides and microresonators, coherent computing based on degenerate optical parametric oscillation in microresonators, parametric nonlinear interactions in photonic devices, slow light, and all-optical signal processing using space-time duality techniques.

Dr. Okawachi is the recipient of the 2017 Tingye Li Innovation Prize. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal papers and is a co-inventor on 2 patents. He has served on the CLEO subcommittee and is a referee for 23 peer-reviewed journals. He is currently an associate editor for Optics Letters and Vice Chair of the OSA Integrated Optics Technical Group. He served as the 2017 Ambassador for the Optical Society.