|
An
Interview with Leslie A. Kolodziejski
integrated photonic devices
and materials
2003
February Issue 2
 |
 |
 |
| MIT/Veeco MBE system |
|
Material source ports |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
| MBE reactors |
|
Cluster chamber robot |
Above: The Kolodziejski group’s
new state-of-the-art dual-reactor molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system,
developed collaboratively with Veeco Instruments and currently being
assembled at Veeco/Applied Epi in Minnesota, and funded by the generous
sponsorship of the Walsin Lihwa Corporation.
RLE: How does an electrical engineer
find herself conducting research in fundamental areas of materials
science?
KOLODZIEJSKI: As a junior
in my undergraduate program in college, it became very important
to me to choose a career with a stable, solid income. It was equally
important to me to be an independent, self-sufficient woman. In
my pragmatic young mind, a multidisciplinary career working  with
materials—electronic materials in particular—guaranteed
that my electrical engineering expertise and knowledge would always
be in demand.
RLE: What do you mean by the phrase
“integrated photonic devices and materials?”
KOLODZIEJSKI: I view integrated
photonic devices and materials as photonic devices that are connected
together, for example on the same substrate, and are able to communicate
with one another primarily with photons. Photonic materials work
with other photonic devices to create a more complex photonic system.
RLE: What are the principal research
efforts of your group today?
KOLODZIEJSKI: Our group focuses
on three major areas: fundamental materials research and feedback-controlled
epitaxy; optoelectronic device research including photonic bandgap
crystal-based devices such as light emitting diodes, superprisms,
optical switches, waveguides, couplers, and cavities; and high efficiency
and ultralow threshold lasers.
RLE: What future trajectory is
your research taking?
KOLODZIEJSKI: The future of
our group involves connecting these various individual devices and
components together to create a new generation of photonic integrated
circuits.These new circuits will utilize photons to transmit the
information rather than charged particles, as is used in conventional
electronic integrated circuits of today.
|
