Dr. Pablo Bianucci, PhD

Education

PhD (The University of Texas at Austin)

Research interests

• Physics and applications of nano- and micro-photonic devices
• Optical properties of nanomaterials
• Interaction of nanomaterials with optical resonators
• Applications of optical resonators

Micro- and nano-photonics

Photonics is using light to transfer and process information instead of electrons. Thanks to the properties of photons (the virtual particles that carry light), photonics has the potential for creating faster and more power-efficient devices than electronics. One of the building blocks for photonic circuits is the optical micro-resonator, which keeps light confined in both space and time. Micro-resonators are the basis of many photonic devices, such as filters, modulators, delay lines, etc. We are interested in exploring optical micro-resonators with new geometries and materials for creating new micro- and nano-photonic devices.

Optical properties of nanomaterials

The optical properties of semiconductor nanostructures are incredibly rich. In collaboration with Dr. John Capobianco, in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, we grow ZnO nanostructures using solution-based methods.

Slowing down trapped light

By carefully sculpting periodic patterns in dielectric media it is possible to slow down its group velocity (the velocity at which a wave can carry information). We have combined that patterning with microring resonators, to find the effect of combining confinement of light at the microscale with slow light.

K. McGarvey-Lechable and P. Bianucci, “Slow light in mass-produced, dispersion-engineered photonic crystal ring resonators", Optics Express 25, 3916 (2017)

A. Hassanpour, N. Bogdan, J. A. Capobianco, and P. Bianucci, “Hydrothermal selective growth of low-aspect-ratio isolated ZnO nanorods", Materials & Design 119, 464 (2017)

P. Bianucci, “Optical microbottle resonators for sensing", Sensors 16, 1841 (2016) 

H. Ghali, H. Chibli, J. L. Nadeau, P. Bianucci, and Y.-A. Peter, “Real-time detection of Staphylococcus Aureus using whispering gallery mode optical microdisks", Biosensors 6, 20 (2016)

K. McGarvey-Lechable, and P. Bianucci, "Maximizing slow-light enhancement in one-dimensional photonic crystal ring resonators", Optics Express 22, 26032 (2014) .

M. H. Tavakoli-Dastjerdi, M. Djavid, S. Arafin, X. Liu, P. Bianucci, Z. Mi, and P. J. Poole,“Optically pumped rolled-up InAs/InGaAsP quantum dash lasers at room temperature”, Semiconductor Science and Technology 28, 094007 (2013)

P. Bianucci, S. Mukherjee, M. H. Tavakoli-Dastjerdi, P. J. Poole, and Z. Mi,“InGaAsP/InAs quantum dot microtube lasers”, Applied Physics Letters 101, 031104–4 (2012)

View my full list of publications.