Nonlinearity Engineering: From mode-locked lasers to selfassembled nanostructures

TYPEOther, Electrical Engineering Department
Speaker:Prof. F. Omer Ilday
Affiliation:Bilkent University, Turkey
Organizer:Dr. Guy Bartal, Electrical Engineering Department
Date:16.11.2015
Time:14:30
Location:
Remark:Host: Distinguished Professor Moti Segev
Abstract:In nature, structure and functionality effortlessly emerge from far-from-equilibrium, dissipative dynamics, often driven
by nonlinear feedback mechanisms. While this is ubiquitous all around us, its intentional use in human technology
remains relatively rare. I assert that it is possible to exploit these principles to achieve superior technological
functionalities and that photonics is a particularly fertile platform to demonstrate this approach, which I refer to as
Nonlinearity Engineering. This talk will review successful applications of this approach to solve well-known and
stubborn problems in a number of quite different physical systems. These range from overcoming limitations to modelocked lasers to creation of the first 3D photonic devices deep inside silicon and 2D nanoscale patterns of
unprecedented uniformity on surfaces of various materials, as well as self-assembly of Si quantum dots into a random
network of pre-designed topology, among several others.