Nathan D. Orloff

Dr. Nathan Daniel Orloff is currently a Microwave Materials Project Leader at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado and Adjunct Faculty at the University of Colorado. He received his Ph.D. in Physics and his Bachelor of Science at the University of Maryland. Dr. Orloff has 36 peer-reviewed publications including publications in Nature, Nature Communications, Lab on a Chip, and Microwave Theory and Techniques and 14 peer-reviewed conference proceedings. He has been granted patent US20160161424A1 for a “Noncontact resonameter, process for making and use of same,” and the provisional patent 62/841,612 “Scanning Microwave Ellipsometry, Process for Making And Use Of Same.” His primary field of research is in microwave materials for applications in telecommunications.

In 2017, Dr. Orloff he became a Senior member of IEEE Society of Microwave Theory and Techniques; in 2014, he received the Communications Technology Distinguished Associate Award; in 2011, he was named Dean’s Fellow at Stanford University. Prior to receiving these honors, as a graduate student, he received the following from the University of Maryland:  Dr. Michael J. Pelczar Award for Excellence in Graduate Study; Best Speaker Award, Materials Research Society Materials Research Society, Symposium K: Oxide Nanoelectronics; Dean’s Award for Excellence: Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences; Award for Excellence in Teaching, Department of Physics.

His current focus is on the microwave materials project which has several concurrent activities in different program areas. In thin-film tunable materials, he is working on measurements of new low loss tunable dielectrics. One activity in this program area is to develop thicker tunable dielectrics with the goal of improving their applications in tunable phase shifters and varactors. Other activities include developing new measurement techniques to measure the second order dielectric constant. This previously unmeasured material property directly influences switching times in tunable devices, which has applications in emerging telecommunications applications. In microwave microfluidics, he and his team are working on developing measurements of complex fluids as a function of frequency. One activity in this program area is to develop new measurements of DNA nanomachines with the goal of providing new measurements of how these machines work as a function of time.

Other areas of interest include developing new measurements of the intermolecular environment around metal-organic cages, which determines how easy it is for these cages to capture and sequester target molecules. In microwave structure measurements, he and his team developed a new microwave ellipsometry technique for measuring and imaging the alignment and quality of carbon fiber composites (and other materials). One activity is to develop a scanning robotic arm for creating three dimensional images of carbon fiber alignment. In optoelectronic electrical signal synthesis, they are developing a new Fourier synthesizer built on the optical frequency comb to generate precise diagnostic signals to measure nonlinear material properties up to 1 THz, which is important for 5G and eventually 6G telecommunications technology. Such measurements are essential for ceramics used in telecommunications. Basic microwave metrology is a core component to the microwave materials project. As such, he and his team actively work to develop more precise and accurate on-wafer calibration techniques. This pursuit requires use to work with other projects very closely. One collaborative project with Dr. Christian Long is to develop new power standards. As a part of the project, he is designing the interconnect, which is a key component in this national standard. Other activities include cavity perturbation measurements for future standard reference materials and standard reference instruments, which began this year.