September 15, 2022 - Rob Devlin

Metasurfaces: From lab to mass markets

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Metasurfaces are a new optical element that allows complete control over all aspects of light (phase, wavelength, intensity, and polarization) with a single, planar semiconductor layer. Comprised of subwavelength nanostructures, a single metasurface can carry out optical functions typically requiring four or more conventional refractive and/or diffractive optics, enabling new forms of sensing at a form factor and price point compatible with mass markets. This presentation will discuss metasurfaces from fundamental concepts to commercialization at Metalenz. We will discuss how metasurfaces are mass produced in the same semiconductor foundries making image sensors and electronics, moving large-scale production of optics into the foundry for the first time. We will also explore how the multi-function performance capabilities of a single metasurface in combination with the large-scale manufacturing capabilities of semiconductor foundries allow Metalenz to proliferate forms of sensing that have previously only been accessible in scientific or industrial laboratories.

Meeting Logistics

Location

 In Person,

Hamilton Brooks Smith & Reynolds

530 Virginia Rd
Concord, MA  01742

 Online, details to be provided to registered attendees

Meeting Date Thursday, 15 September 2022
Reservation Deadline To attend Dinner Monday, 12 September 2022 @ 12 pm
To attend Online Thursday, 15 September 2022 @ 9 am
Event Schedule
Networking: 5:45
Dinner: 6:30
Presentation:  7:30 pm

We will start the Zoom session 15 min prior to
the presentation for debugging connection issues for online participants

Read more: September 15, 2022 - Rob Devlin

May 19, 2022 - Daniel Eisenstein

Looking into the Early Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope

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Launched Christmas Day 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be the flagship astronomical facility of the coming decade. As a large-aperture infrared-optimized telescope, it will provide a stunning new view of the Universe and permit study of astrophysical questions that we have simply not had the capacity to address before. I will present an overview of the telescope and describe how it will transform the study of the early evolution of galaxies.

Meeting Logistics

Location

In person, Optikos Corporation,
107 Audubon Road, Bldg. 3,
Wakefield, MA 01880

 Online, details to be provided to registered attendees
Meeting Date Thursday, 19 May 2022
Reservation Deadline

To attend Dinner Friday, 13 May 2022 @ 12 pm
To attend Online Thursday, 19 May 2022 @ 9 am

Event Schedule
Networking: 5:45
Dinner: 6:30
Presentation:  7:30 pm

We will start the Zoom session 15 min prior to
the presentation for debugging connection issues for online participants

Please note:

  • Optikos is an ITAR restricted facility, so meeting attendees that are foreign nationals will need to provide a passport for identification when they arrive
  • Masks are optional at Optikos. If you are experiencing COVID symptoms or have had a recent exposure to someone who tested positive for COVID, we request that you join the meeting over Zoom
  • Tours of our new facilities will be offered during the networking hour
Read more: May 19, 2022 - Daniel Eisenstein

April 21, 2022 - Bob Schulein

Optical Communications for Human Space Exploration

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MIT Lincoln Laboratory is currently developing optical communications technologies to support a variety of future NASA missions, including human space exploration efforts. The Artemis II mission, which will return humans to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo missions, will include an optical communication payload for the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications (O2O) demonstration.  The recently launched Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) provides an optical relay that will communicate between ground terminals and the soon to be launched Integrated LCRD Low-Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) aboard the International Space Station. This talk describes the development and status of these systems.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Air Force Contract No. FA8702-15-D-0001. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Meeting Logistics

Location
 Online, details to be provided to registered attendees
Meeting Date Thursday, 21 April 2022
Reservation Deadline Thursday, 21 April 2022 @ 6pm
Event Schedule
Presentation:  7:00 pm

We will start the session 15 min prior to
the presentation for debugging connection issues for participants

Read more: April 21, 2022 - Bob Schulein

February 16, 2022 - Julie Bentley

A look back at 10 years of student-led development of first-order search and evaluation tools for the design of complex zoom lenses

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When presented with a new design request it is not unusual for an optical designer to start from an existing design that was chosen based on its underlying design form and then scaled to meet system requirements (e.g. focal length). However, the design of a new zoom lens is complex and typically requires a designer to “start from scratch”. As a result, considerable emphasis must be placed on the first-order configuration of the starting point design especially since constraints on packaging parameters (e.g. length, diameter, working distance) can change the first-order solution space significantly. This talk will take a historical look at the student-led development of Excel, Matlab, and Python zoom lens tools for automating the Monte Carlo first-order search, visualizing the zoom motion, and quickly evaluating the performance of a complex zoom lens.

Meeting Logistics

Location
 Online, details to be provided to registered attendees
Meeting Date Wednesday, 16 February 2022
Reservation Deadline Tuesday, 15 February 2022 @ 6pm
Event Schedule
Presentation:  7:00 pm

We will start the session 15 min prior to
the presentation for debugging connection issues for participants

Read more: February 16, 2022 - Julie Bentley

March 17, 2022 - Michael J. Williams

Continuing the Search for Equity: Advancing the Need for More Representation of Black Scientists in Optics and Photonics

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The events of 2020 have forced us all to confront the dark truths of racial injustice and police brutality that so many black people have endured for decades. The scientific community especially had its own awakening to the bias, indifference, and discrimination that black scientists have seen and experienced, including the fact that as a whole, the many contributions that black scientists have given to science have not been embraced nor celebrated by their colleagues mainly because of their skin color. In this presentation, I share my story on how I was able to earn the Ph.D. in optics through my matriculation of entirely all historically black colleges and universities, how the black scientific community responded to the cry for racial equality, and why it is so important to advocate on their behalf for racial equity in the sciences.

Meeting Logistics

Location
 Online, details to be provided to registered attendees
Meeting Date Thursday, 17 March 2022
Reservation Deadline Wednesday, 16 March 2022 @ 6pm
Event Schedule
Presentation:  7:00 pm

We will start the session 15 min prior to
the presentation for debugging connection issues for participants

Read more: March 17, 2022 - Michael J. Williams

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