Professional Summary
I am a PhD student working under Hans-Peter Wagner. My current research interests are in better understanding the optical properties of indium phosphide nanowire arrays.
Currently, AI centers provide a new challenge to the energy infrastructure of the world. One of the largest energy sinks at these centers is the transfer of data from the computational results of CPUs/GPUs to other CPUs/GPUs and for both intermediate and final data transfer to memory. This is due to the inherent resistance of electronic circuits.
The long-term big-picture goal of the research I am pursuing is to have data transfer conducted by photonic circuits instead of electronic ones. Per bit, light is significantly more energy efficient at transfering data than electrons. However, to realize this goal a better understanding of the opitcal properties of materials is necessary to guide engineers in producing robust and efficient photonic devices.
InP is a semiconductor with a direct bandgap in the near infrared region which has established its use in modern optical fiber connections. InP fabricated into nanowire arrays has the added benefit of having tuneable properties such as the diameter of individual nanowires and the spacing between naowires which can control the effective index of refraction. Due to the periodic nature of the nanowire arrays, the arrays effectively act as photonic crystals which have a tuneable photonic band structure due to the tuneability of the nanowire arrays themselves.
The properties of photonic band structures are quite fascinating, as they allow photonic crystals to strongly control the propagation of light, leading to high reflectivity or suppressed transmission at certain wavelengths associated with photonic band gaps. Moreover, photonic crystals can enhance optical confinement and increase photon lifetime within specific modes. When combined with InP as a direct bandgap gain medium, the nanowire structure can support optical amplification. If the optical gain exceeds the losses, these confined resonant modes can lead to lasing under appropriate optical pumping conditions.It is these phenomena in particular which I am currently researching and most interested in.
Prospective graduate students, please feel free to email me about any questions you have about my research, advisor, or general information about life as a graduate student at the University of Cincinnati. Current researchers, please feel free to email me if you are interested in collaborating or have any questions about my work.
Education
Bachelors Degree: University of Florida Gainesville, FL, 2023 (Physics)
Research and Practice Interests
Current or Future Measurements/Simulations of InP nanowire arrays:
- Angle resolved reflectance
- Angle resolved photoluminescence
- Time resolved photoluminescence
- Optical simulations utilizing the Lumerical software package
Contact Information
mendezdd@mail.uc.edu