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Energy Technologies: ECEEP

Active projects in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Engineering Physics (ECEEP) with applications for energy technologies:

Computational electromagnetics research is developing advanced analytical and numerical methods—such as the method of auxiliary sources, the method of moments, and pseudo spectral FDTD methods—for investigating high voltage non-linear electrostatic discharge phenomena as well as electromagnetic energy propagation in complex (Chiral and Bi-anizotropic) media.
(Faculty contact: Shubitidze)

Electronic instrumentation research includes development of a new type of non-contact optical sensor of vibration and other motion. New designs for free space optical communications are under study, both for transmission through the atmosphere and through water. Active and passive waveguides are needed for optical signal processing, telecommunications, optical data storage, and other applications. Fiber optics devices such as tunable filters and fiber lasers are being designed and built.
(Faculty contact: Garmire)

Femtosecond pulses being transmitted through water has recently shown that these pulses sustain much less loss than longer pulses, particularly at long distances. Femtosecond pulses are used to create terahertz radiation, whose transmission through a variety of media is being investigated.
(Faculty contacts: Osterberg, Garmire)

Magneto-optics research is focused on production and studies of magnetic vortex states in ring structures, and the coupling between them. Thin dielectric films are used to enhance the magneto-optic Kerr effect signal from our samples. Areas of interest include the interactions of proximal rings, and symmetry effects.
(Faculty contact: Gibson)

Microfabricated magnetic components using nanomaterials make it possible to miniaturize power-handling magnetic components through taking advantage of the materials' high-flux-density and high-frequency capabilities. We are developing practical methods of depositing these materials and fabricating inductors and transformers on silicon chips or in other techonologies.
(Faculty contact: Sullivan)

Nonlinear optical studies investigate second- and third-order nonlinear effects in optical glass fibers, thin films, and semiconductor structures. A novel project is ultrafast pulse shaping of wavelets for high bandwidth fiber-optic free-space systems. Nonlinear devices are being investigated for high-speed image processing and for time-to-wavelength conversion for communication systems.
(Faculty contact: Garmire)

Passive high-frequency power components are often the limiting factors in reducing the power loss, size, cost, and weight of high-frequency electronic power converters. Through detailed analysis, modeling, and optimization of high-frequency effects in inductors, transformers, and capacitors, we are improving performance of these components and making it easier to design the efficient, low-cost power electronics needed for a wide range of applications including energy efficiency and renewable energy.
(Faculty contact: Sullivan)

Semiconductor devices & opto-electronics research has several components. Studies of carrier transport through quantum wells, using picosecond optical pulses, demonstrate the importance of hole motion. Improved materials for trapping photo-induced carriers are being explored, and improved non-linear optical semiconductor devices are being designed and tested.
(Faculty contact: Garmire)