Optoelectronic, Optical Physics and VCSEL Consultant and Expert (1183)
Expertise
Over 20 years experience in the fields of optoelectronics and optical physics.
Research, development and application of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs)
10 years technical and management experience in semiconductors, communications, and fiber optic sensors.
Technical expertise in semiconductor, crystalline and glass materials and devices, laser physics, optical fiber devices and sensors, networks, programming, electronics, and optics.
Business development, start-up experience, strong familiarity with business planning and practice, program management, timelines, budgets, proposal writing.
Technical expertise in programming (C/C++, embedded), electronics, and optical design.
Analog and digital design and debugging including A-D conversion, fast low-noise optical detection circuitry, digital interfaces, embedded processors, signal processing, and network interfaces, serial/parallel/GPIB, RS-232, D-A/A-D.
Experienced in drafting and design of facilities, particularly laboratories and clean rooms, as well as designing small parts.
Experience
Independent Business Owner and Consultant 2004 - Present
Responsible for overall success of the company. Business areas including polymeric optics and consulting.
Optical modeling and programming: Modified and created new modeling extensions (WIN32 DLLs) for Zemax, various scientific models using VisualStudio and open source compilers (Bloodshed, devcpp).
Some work with Python on Linux platform, various *nix applications and scripts.
Tetra Tech Data Systems (later IPITEK), Carlsbad, CA, Director of Sensor Technology 1998-2004
Responsible for overall management and technical leadership of fiber optic sensor group (6-10 scientists, engineers, salespeople, and technicians).
Instrument electronic design: Photoreceivers (e.g. low noise, high linearity and high speed), embedded processing (uC/PGA, DSP), interfacing (serial, Ethernet, some USB, displays, keypad, etc.). CPLD & limited FPGA (Xilinx) design.
Software development: Embedded processing (eZ80, 8051, x86), DSP(Analog/TI), scientific computing, numerical modeling.
Product development in the fields of thermal, acoustic, pressure, biological, chemical and e-field sensors.
Research projects on millimeter-wave, DWDM/UDWDM, wavelength cross-connects, fiber optic switches, avionics networks, and secure communciations.
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, Senior Scientist 1996-1998
Responsible for developing devices & applications for chalcogenide (CG) fibers and integrated optics. Resulting in three patents.
Wrote optical amplifier modeling code in C using open source compiler.
R&D accomplishments: first chalcogenide SM fused coupler, first IR singlemode near-field optical microscope probe, first model of 1.3 um CG fiber amplifiers, made CG fiber Bragg gratings. Built electro-mechanical system for fiber tapering.
Other R&D areas: IR scene simulation, Raman amplifiers in CG, chemical sensors, microlensed fibers, photosensitive waveguides & photo-doping.
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO,
Research Assistant 1992 – 1996
R&D in quantum optics of vertical-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers. Designed laser structures for MBE growth, measured & modeled optical response.
Wrote code for multilayer dielectric modeling with complex index using Borland C++. Wrote instrument control software in Borland C for photon counting spectroscopy system. Set up, instrumented, wrote code for, and maintained optical characterization laboratory.
Worked on reflectance PL, DCXRD, SEM, and other optical measurements systems.
Designed and built photon-counting system with noise floor of 4 photons.
Provided primary optical characterization support for all structures grown in NIST MBE machine and skilled in measurement techniques.
Other R&D areas: Quantum well interdiffusion, crosstalk in VCSEL arrays, angular and spectral dispersion of and spectral drift of the fundamental lasing mode in VCSELs.
Bandgap Technology Corporation, Broomfield, CO, Senior Materials Characterization Engineer/QA Manager 1989 – 1992
Served as primary quality control officer for a start-up compound semiconductor manufacturing company.
Developed and maintained characterization facilities (hardware, software, training, calibration, etc). Wrote numerous GUI instrument control & data acquisition applications for HP Unix workstations using Xwidget & Athena toolkits.
Responsible for analysis and interpretation of all wafer test data.
One of 4 lead engineers responsible for design and equipping of 2000 sq-ft Class 10 clean room.
Techniques used: PL, photoreflectance, parametric testing, C-V profiling, Hall effect, resistivity/particulate screening, Nomarski microscopy, DCXRD, and RF device characterization.
Set up and administered HP 9000 Unix cluster network for characterization and manufacturing.
Brown University, Providence, RI, Research Assistant 1987 – 1989
Research on III-V solar cells using novel LPE technique.
Grew and characterized materials using photoluminescence, X-ray diffraction, Hall effect, and SEM.
Honors & Publications
Over 30 scientific publications – list available upon request
Executive Editorial Board, Fiber & Integrated Optics
Over 30 patent applications and 5 issued patents
Education
Ph.D., Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
MS, Physics, Brown University, Providence, RI
BA, Physics, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA.