Compound Semiconductor Seminar - David Heim
Compound Semiconductors: Electronics,
Optoelectronics & Quantum Seminar
Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 12:00PM
Attend in person at Henley Hall 1010
David Heim, Graduate Student Researcher
Blumenthal Group, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Photonic integrated stabilized lasers in silicon nitride
Ultra-low-noise stabilized lasers are a fundamental tool for precision quantum technologies, optical clocks, microwave and millimeter-wave generation, and fiber sensing. Existing systems rely on table-top bulk-optic components -- discrete lasers, reference cavities, isolators, modulators and frequency shifters -- limiting their application outside of the research-lab environment. Photonic integration with low loss silicon nitride promises to bring the performance and versatility of table-top stabilized laser systems to the chip-scale, providing a path to scalable, low-cost, and manufacturable precision lasers for portable quantum, sensing, and communications technologies.
Bio: David is a PhD candidate in Electrical & Computer Engineering at UCSB advised by Prof. Dan Blumenthal. His research focuses on integrated photonics in silicon nitride for quantum and atomic applications, in particular with developing hybrid-integrated narrow linewidth lasers and photonic systems on chip.