INTERN SPOTLIGHT: NICK GANGI
Nick Gangi, an electrical engineering PhD student from RPI, spent his summer internship at AIM Photonics working on the characterization of thick (>400 nm) silicon nitride (SiN) films, which have applications in low-loss waveguides, ring resonators, and nonlinear optics. His work involved collecting data on films from various deposition tools and then analyzing that data to understand the impact that different fabrication methods have on the film.
SiN has low-loss properties, offers a broadband transparency window from visible to mid-infrared, and can guide light in waveguides, all of which enable high-volume manufacturing of integrated photonic circuits that are ideal for communications, metrology, spectroscopy, quantum computing, lasers, biosensing, light detection, and position, navigation and timing (PNT) applications.
“This is important to AIM Photonics because when SiN is scaled to thicker layers, certain optical properties can be harnessed which leads to a high-quality factor, ‘Q’, and lower losses,” said AIM Photonics Process Integration Engineer Dr. Soumen Kar, who served as one of Gangi’s mentors in the internship program.
“The work Nick is performing here will enable us to realize highly efficient and compact on-chip sensing, frequency generators and optical routing,” added AIM Photonics Integration Engineer Dr. Katrina Morgan, who also worked as a mentor with Gangi this summer.
Gangi initially expected his work at AIM Photonics to be focused on photonic device design, characterization, and development. However, since AIM engages photonic device research on a more comprehensive scope—including fabrication and material research—Gangi said the internship has offered him a chance to learn more about how all stages of photonic device fabrication and development are interconnected and why a working knowledge of the whole process is essential to effective device development.
“Through this project, I’ve reinforced my knowledge of material optical properties and have been exposed to a variety of metrology techniques and equipment. I hope the work I’m doing will one day be used to create more efficient photonic devices and help realize the next generation of integrated nonlinear optical devices,” said Gangi.
After finishing his graduate program, Nick hopes to work in a photonics research lab. “AIM Photonics has diversified my skill set and has given me insight into professional photonic design and fabrication,” he said. “AIM Photonics is widely known and respected in the U.S. photonic industry, and I believe my time here will be highly relevant to future employers.”
As for the future of the technology, Gangi said he thinks device efficiency will continue to improve, as well as light coupling methods and on-chip lasers, expanding the practicality of device integration. “I also believe integrated photonics will have increasing relevance in low-precision computing and machine learning,” he added.
You can find out more about Nick Gangi on his LinkedIn profile.
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Students Explore Integrated Photonics through Summer Internships at AIM Photonics