Three courses in nanostructures for electronics and photonics are taught at Utah State University. Questions about these courses should be directed to Dr. TC Shen.
PHYS/ECE/BENG/MAE 5700: Introduction to Microfabrication
Introduction to Microfabrication is offered each fall semester. The goal of this course is to provide a basic understanding and hands-on experience on microfabrication which is the basic technology to create every micro- to nano-scale device encountered everyday including electronics, photonics, biological and chemical sensors, photovoltaic cells, just to name a few. In addition to devices, microfabrication can create micro/nanoscale structures, to study basic physics and materials science.
Limited by space and process modules in the Nanoscale Device Lab, the course is capped at 18 students. The priority will be given to students of imminent research and career needs. Please submit the application form in Word to Dr. Shen. Applications will be considered until the class is full. This laboratory has a $100 fee to cover consumables and instrument repairs.
The class will begin with 6 weeks of lectures to cover the science of semiconductor processing and instruments. In lieu of a single mid-term exam, there will be a quiz at the beginning of each class from week 2 on the material discussed in the previous week. In lieu of homework, each student will give one 10-min PowerPoint presentation about a particular subject complementary to the lectures in the semester. The presentation topics are posted in Files on Canvas. Reference should be included in the slides in the format of Journal volume, page (year). The presentation slides will be posted in the course website for everyone to learn after presentation.
Students will form groups of 3 in the lab section of the course from week 7. Students will gain the experience of dicing, wet-chemical cleaning, photolithography, etching, and deposition. Each student will write his/her own lab report describing the experiment and discussing the results. The grade will be composed of 50% lab report, 30% of quizzes and 20% presentation.
PHYS/ECE 5210: Introduction to Photonics and Devices
Introduction to Photonics and Devices is offered each spring semester. The course explores generation and manipulation of light by devices. It is well known how classical light can be thermally generated and subsequently manipulated by mirrors and lenses. However, with the knowledge of quantum structures of materials and the capability of micro/nanofabrication, we can now generate highly coherent and very intense light and subsequently manipulate that light by nanometer scale structures. Studies of generation and manipulation of photons in free space or in matter lie in the realm of photonics. The course is designed for advanced undergraduate students who have some basic exposure to Maxwell’s equations (as in PHYS 3600/ECE 3870) and the Schrödinger equation (as in PHYS 2710), but the course can also expand the scope of graduate students.
We shall first review classical electromagnetism and basic optics. Next, the quantum nature of light will be explored and the compatibility with classical wave perspective will be discussed. We will introduce the electronic band structures in crystals and apply the concepts to photonic crystals which will lead to optical resonators and lasers. Semiconductor optoelectronics such as light emitting diodes and photodetectors will be introduced. Lastly, if time permits, we will discuss quantum entanglement which is the basic state to quantum information processing. At the end of the course, students should be able to view light in terms of Maxwell’s equations and photons. Students should also gain an understanding of modern devices that can generate and control photons for sensing, molecular manipulation, communication, and computing.
Grades will be evaluated by homework (60%) and a final research presentation (40%) on a special topic which will be suggested as the course progresses. To encourage timely study, late homework will be deducted by 5 pt/day.
PHYS/ECE 5250: Photonics Laboratory
Photonics Laboratory will be offered in each spring semester starting from 2025 spring. This course provides hands-on experience of manipulating light both as beams and as individual particles, or photons. Electromagnetics is one of the most studied fields in physics. However, because of the enormous range of the spectrum and their distinct interactions with matter, novel devices to generate, detect, modulate, and guide electromagnetic radiation and their applications continue to advance. In particular, wireless communication and photonic computation are intensively pursued in research and development around the world. This course is designed for advanced undergraduate students who have taken undergraduate electromagnetism (I) and (II) and introductory optics, and graduate students with a similar background. This course is one of the required courses for students who are registered for Photonics Certificate programs. The complementary course, PHYS/ECE 5210 (Introduction to Photonics and Devices), provides theoretical background for this course. Therefore, it is highly recommended to take PHYS/ECE 5210 prior to this course or, at least, concurrently.
We plan to explore three units: microwave photonics, classical photonics, and quantum photonics in this course. Each unit will have 3-4 experimental modules. In the first four weeks I will explain the setup, operation, phenomena to investigate, and quantities to measure of each experimental module. Students in groups of two will rotate through five labs for the rest of the semester. Each lab will allow two weeks to complete, including pre-lab assignment, instrument training, setup adjustment, data collection, and report writing. Extra lab time outside of regular class hours could be arranged, if requested. Students are encouraged to design their own experiments within the given module. Experimental modules are outlined as follows:
Learning Objectives
- Capability of operating many optical instruments and performing optical alignment.
- Characterization of the transmission and reflection of waveguides: from metallic microwave waveguide on a chip to dielectric optical waveguide on a chip.
- Understanding basic wave optics including polarization, interference, resonators, and coupling.
- Characterization of photon sources and detectors and quantum states of entangled photons.
Final grades will consist of prelab assignment (20%) and lab reports (80%). Students should read the lab manual and work through the prelab questions at home. The prelab assignment will be collected at the beginning of each lab. Each student must write a lab report for each lab. The lab reports will be graded based on the description of physics involved, experimental design, data analysis, discussion and conclusions. The lab report will be due on the last day of each lab. Late report will incur a penalty of 5 points per day.