Andrea Armani

tel: 626 4347 9806
E-mail: armani@usc.edu
Web: http://chems.usc.edu/armani/

Biography

Lecture Title(s)

Integrated Photonics for Exploring Biological Systems
Innovation in technology routinely leads the way for discovery in chemistry and biology. Most notably, x-ray diffraction data was instrumental in the elucidation of the structure of DNA. To explore the inherent complexity present in biological systems, existing technologies are being pushed to their limits. Once again, scientists are looking to engineers to create innovative solutions to enable their exploration and discovery. Many of the new methods currently being developed focus on increasing the sensitivity of the detection technique by inventing new devices as well as increasing the specificity of the device by engineering synthetic targeting moieties and improved attachment methods. This talk will present an overview of a few of the more recent surface chemistry methods which have been developed in the Armani Lab. It will also delve into some of the novel biophysics experiments which have been enabled by these covalent attachment methods. Specifically, several covalent strategies for attaching antibodies and DNA to optical devices without degrading the performance of the device will be discussed. This approach has allowed us to use these photonic devices to measure protein kinetic behaviors (dissociation constants) and mass transport limitations.

Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Integrated Photonics
Integrated photonics offers a potential alternative to integrated electronics, with reduced heating and faster data rates. However, to achieve many of the desired performance metrics, it is necessary to combine disparate material systems which is extremely difficult due to a wide variety of reasons often including different lattice constants, thermal expansion coefficients, and refractive indices. Therefore, new materials and material systems are desired. One approach is to combine the optical materials conventionally used in telecommuncations, such as silica, silicon and lithium niobate, with polymeric materials. These hybrid systems offer optical and mechanical properties which are not attainable with conventional material systems, such as athermal performance. This talk will present an overview of the integrated hybrid photonic device research in the Armani Lab, including athermal resonant cavities with quality factors in excess of 10 million. Additionally, new research exploring bio-hybrid devices for communications will be presented.