SYMPOSIUM 33: Optical and Electronic Materials and Devices

The field of light interaction with matter has attracted increased attention with advances in ultrashort pulse lasers and high-power fiber lasers, along with the need to design and fabricate structures for use in low-loss applications and laser damage resistance. New phenomena have been observed and new applications have been developed, whereby lasers are employed in diverse areas, such as cutting, welding, and engraving of glass; fabrication of waveguides, gratings and micro-channels inside the bulk of glass; and, most recently, 3D printing through additive or subtractive laser-assisted processing. Lasers have been shown to be versatile in other applications of phase change, whereby glass or amorphous media are “converted” in a controlled way to crystalline or composites (glass ceramics) material. These advances have been realized in optical phase-change materials; laser-induced crystallization, such as seen in the fabrication of active single crystal architecture, GRIN lenses; and strengthening of glass and other applications, where a knowledge of not only the material but the light/matter interaction mechanism is required. This session will focus on the most recent and advanced issues pertaining to the science and applications of laser–glass interactions, such as laser irradiation effects, compositional and structural changes, and dynamics and mechanisms of laser-induced modifications. 

The session “Glasses for Energy Applications” invites researchers to share their discoveries about the new and transformative ways glass materials are used in the energy sector. Focusing on theoretical advancements and practical implementations, the session will cover innovative uses of glass in photovoltaic systems, energy storage solutions, thermal insulation, smart technologies, hydrogen production and utilization, and transport phenomenal in the disordered media, involving electronic, ionic, or molecular transport.  

Glasses are important materials for optical components and devices given their excellent optical transparency and versatile processing. Novel oxide and non-oxide glass compositions and fabrication technology development have further enabled emerging applications such as light emission, infrared imaging, nonlinear optical signal processing, and sensing. This session will cover material synthesis and processing as well as device fabrication and applications of innovative device architectures including, but not limited to molded optics, diffractive optics, thin film optical coatings, metamaterials/metasurfaces and integrated photonic components. Special attention will be paid to innovative optical fibers and waveguides, with topics of interest including, but not limited to: microstructure optical fibers, infrared fibers, multimaterial fibers, optical fibers for health, novel processes of fiber fabrication 

Rare earth and transition-metal doped materials play fundamental roles in many applications, such as optical communication, sensing, medical diagnosis, or clean energy systems. These roles are the result of intense research efforts on the development of new materials, material platforms, and designs. A deep understanding of the underlying science that determines the optical properties of these dopants has been achieved over the years.  

Proposed Sessions/Topics 

• Laser interactions with glasses 

• Glasses for energy applications 

• Optical fibers and waveguides, optoelectronic glass-based devices 

• Rare-earth and transition metal-doped glasses and ceramics for photonics 

Symposium Organizer(s) 

• Shiv Prakash Singh, Liaoning Academy of Materials, China 

• Myungkoo Kang, Alfred University, USA 

• Casey Schwarz, Ursinus College, USA 

• Rashi Sharma; University of Central Florida, USA 

Point(s) of Contact 

• Shiv Prakash Singh; spsingh67@gmail.com 

Symposium Sponsor(s) 

• Glass and Optical Materials Division