Photonic+Crystals


 * Objectives:** The remarkable optical properties of photonic crystals, which produce the brilliant colors of many insects, can be leveraged to produce highly sensitive detectors for ultrasound biomicroscopy systems. Researcher will learn the fundamental principles of photonic crystals and optical techniques to detect ultrasound. They will appreciate the methodology for developing an image sensor, including the basic physics, device fabrication and characterization, and testing in an imaging system.
 * Laboratory Research Plan:** (1) Researchers will explore various methods to synthesize photonic crystals based on polystyrene microspheres. (2) They will characterize their photonic crystals with spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy, and optical diffraction studies. (3) They will use an ultrasound imaging test bed to measure the detection sensitivity of their photonic crystal sensors. (4) Finally, they will perform imaging experiments of tissue-mimicking samples to quantify the overall imaging performance of their photonic crystal sensors.