Leader in Integrated ICT Hardware & Systems
Together with sponsor Meta, Tyndall celebrates the winners and finalists of the 2021 Postgraduate Publication of the Year.
Despite the continuous pandemic challenges, our students once again showed outstanding discoveries and results as part of their PhD projects, some even opening major new possibilities in their field.
Dr Fatima Gunning, Head of Graduate Studies at Tyndall, praised the entries, saying: "Year on year our students really showcase their outstanding contributions to Tyndall’s Research Excellence through the Postgraduate Research Publication of Year competition. This time, we noticed new entries from students who started their research during pandemic and lockdowns, which were quite disruptive, but their perseverance, endurance and team support paid off with excellent results! Once again we saw early stage PhD students submitting their exceptional publications, so special awards as Rising Stars for 2nd and 3rd years were also included! Congratulations to all!"
Runner-Up
“Thermo-optically induced transparency on a photonic chip”
1. What encouraged you to submit your application to the 2021 Postgraduate Research Publication of the Year?
The Postgraduate Publication of the Year competition is a great opportunity to highlight your work both inside Tyndall and externally, increasing chances of collaborations. Moreover, being published on Nature’s LSA was a nice result that encouraged me to submit for the competition.
2. What inspired you to choose the subject of your paper?
The subject of the paper is one of the main sub-fields of my work: enhancing optical non-linearities through the utilisation of micro-resonators integrated on a silicon chip. After a relatively long time developing a very accurate physical model of the system and various experiments, we realised we were observing and correctly describing a relatively rare but interesting non-linear effect, able to remarkably slow the light propagating in our on-chip micro-resonators. This was particularly attractive as the effect could be achieved at room temperature on silicon chips without the need of other more complex mechanisms (required by other more complex systems in literature).
3. What’s your paper about and how did you prepare for it? What role did research excellence play in your approach?
The paper is about the observation and accurate physical description of a novel non-linear optic effect, that we called TOIT: Thermo-Optic Induced Transparency, in optical micro-resonators (very small light traps) integrated on a silicon chip at room temperature. This effect arises from the interference occurring between a laser signal pumping an optical micro-resonator and its electromagnetic field oscillating with the resonator’s temperature swings, which in turn are generated by the absorption of the laser light. We developed an analytical model to describe the underlying physics and a first principle numerical model (patiently coded in Matlab), able to accurately match with the experimental results and also predict the behaviour of different resonators before testing, becoming a powerful tool for the design of new type of systems to exploit this effect. Moreover, a careful planning of the measurements and measuring technique led to remarkable experimental results, highlighted in the paper.
4. The selection for Research Publication of the Year is extremely competitive. What is your advice for those aspiring for nomination next year?
Let your curiosity towards specific topics guide your efforts, push you through the experiments even when difficulties arise and inspire you with new perspective and ideas to solve the challenges that make you feel stuck.
5. What is the single most significant support Tyndall has been able to offer you in achieving your research goals? (Please provide any detail on additional supports that assisted? How has Tyndall enabled you to fulfil your potential in this regard?)
Tyndall’s nanofabrication facilities have been critical for the realisation of the devices we investigate every day, added to the broad expertise and support from my supervisor Dr. William Whelan-Curtin in Munster Technological University and the co-authors and collaborators in Universitá di Pavia.
Simone Iadanza; Marco Clementi, Sebastian A. Schulz, Giulia Urbinati, Dario Gerace, Liam O’Faloain & Matteo Galli, “Thermo-optically induced transparency on a photonic chip”, Nature's Light: Science & Applications, volume 10, Article number: 240 (2021).