Advanced Photonic Devices and Applications

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The short-term objectives of this proposed research program are to develop speckle-free green lasers for laser display and on-line pathogen sensors for water pollution monitoring. The long-term goals of the proposed program are to maintain the leading position of the research on MgO:PPLN based green lasers and mirco-flow cytometry based sensors established in Dr. Xu's group at McMaster University, to apply the developed lasers and sensors to systems such as laser projectors, bio-imaging, and online sensing, and to explore new photonic materials and devices beyond the visible wavelength range. Laser based display is an emerging technology in the display industry. However, laser display suffers from the laser speckle. The first theme of the proposed research is to develop speckle-free lasers to satisfy the strong demand from the laser display industry. The speckle-free green lasers are based on the miniaturized green laser platform established at Dr. Xu's group, which is compact (), low-cost (1.5W), and efficient (EO efficiency 10~20%). The second theme of the proposed research is to develop micro flow cytometer based online pathogen sensors with high throughput and low detection limit, which is strongly demanded in the water quality monitoring industry. The current method to detect low concentrations of pathogens relies on the traditional cultural enrichment method in a lab, which often takes several days to complete the processes and requires intricate instrumentation/operation. Thus, on-line pathogen sensing that can detect pathogens in a fast and accurate manner is strongly demanded. The proposed research program involves some hot research topics around the world and addresses several key issues in laser display and water monitoring industries. Since the proposed research is based on the unique PPLN laser and micro-flow cytometry sensor technologies established in Dr. Xu's group, and the targeted specifications of the speckle-free lasers and online pathogen sensors have not been achieved elsewhere, a number of publications with high impact factor can be expected. It will enable the research team to keep itself as one of the international leading players in the areas of lasers and optical sensors, and wide spread application of the laser based projection and online monitoring of pathogens in water. It will enhance and establish collaborations with photonics companies and institutes in Canada and worldwide, provide industry partners with highly qualified personnel, and contribute to Canadian high-tech industries.