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ESE Seminar: “Efficient Mid-Infrared Photodetection Using Graphene Plasmons at Room Temperature”
January 22, 2019 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
In the history of materials development, many classic materials (Si, III-Vs, organics, etc.) which can be produced reliably at large scale eventually have found critical applications after decades of intensive research, leveraging their distinctive properties. For example, silicon dominates the field-effect-transistor technology because perfect dielectric-silicon interface can be readily realized. Organic materials are currently widely used in flat-panel displays, because of their great light emitting properties and the availability of cost-effective production techniques. In this talk, I will first discuss the unique properties of graphene, the first two-dimensional material isolated about 15 years ago, including ultralow heat capacity, high mobility, and weak electron-phonon coupling strength. Leveraging these unique properties, I will then present an efficient mid-infrared photodetector based on graphene plasmons operational at room temperature. Since high-quality wafer-scale graphene can already be produced routinely, such efficient mid-infrared photodetectors may find applications in high-speed thermal imaging and free-space communications.
Fengnian Xia
Associate Professor, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Yale University
Fengnian Xia received the B.E. degree with the highest honor in electronics engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA. He held postdoc, engineer and research staff positions in IBM Thomas J. Watson research center in Yorktown Heights, NY, USA from 2005 to 2013. He joined Yale University in 2013 and he is currently the Barton L. Weller associate professor in engineering and science at Department of Electrical Engineering. He explores the light-matter interaction and quantum transport in low-dimensional materials and identifies their potential applications in computing, flexible electronics, imaging, optical communications, and energy harvesting.
Professor Xia’s honors include the National Science Foundation CAREER award (2016), the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award (2015), the IBM Pat Goldberg Memorial Best Paper Award (2014), the TR35 Award, MIT Technology Review’s Top Young Innovators under 35 (2011), the IBM Corporate Award, that corporation’s highest technical honor (2012), and the designation of the Weller Junior Professorship in Engineering and Science by Yale President in October 2015.