POSSIBLE PROJECTS FOR MULTIMEDIA MSc STUDENTS
Project DWEA1:
The growing technological importance of
photonic devices and systems, particularly in the area of telecommunications,
has led to a demand for component integration, to achieve simultaneous
reductions in costs and increases in reliability. Software packages are needed for computer-assisted design of
photonic circuits comprising active devices like devices optical amplifiers,
switches and photodetectors and optical waveguides (which have the same
function a metal inter-connect in an electronic I.C.) and mirrors. The properties of optical waveguides
are critically dependent on geometry, the materials used in their fabrication
and on the polarisation state of the light. As a consequence, software for photonic circuit layout needs
to take into account these factors.
The
objectives of this project include some, or all, of the following
(i)
To develop
design tools for optical waveguides for interconnects in photonic integrated
circuits, possibly from existing software;
(ii)
To develop a
reliable user interface for data entry, possibly including establishing a
database of frequently used parameters and structures, integrated with the
waveguide design procedures;
(iii)
To develop
2-D and 3-D data presentation formats, for data entry and checking as well as
for presenting results;
(iv)
To develop a
package for 2-D layout of photonic circuits, to include error checking for
breaches of layout rules. These
rules will be applications-based in that device and component dimensions and
spacing will depend on the design and performance criteria set for the circuit.
Project
originator: D.W.E. Allsopp, email eesda@bath.ac.uk
Project DWEA2:
Microbiological
particles (e.g.: bacteria, viruses, DNA fragments etc) can react to applied
electric fields by moving or rotating in a predictable manner. The induced motion can be characteristic
of a specific particle, thereby enabling its identification or isolation from
other species without using time-consuming techniques like culture
formation. The potential
advantages of using electrokinetic effects in the analysis of microorganisms in
health care, in environmental science and in microbiology are therefore
enormous.
The
electrokinetic response of a small particle can be predicted using theory based
on certain well-established principles of electronic engineering, namely
electrostatics and electromagnetics.
The objectives of this project include
(i)
Developing a
programme for calculating and displaying the 3-D electric field distribution
for user-defined electrode configurations;
(ii)
Calculating
the time dependent response of electrically neutral and charged particles of
different geometry to the resulting electric field distributions;
(iii)
Developing
software for plotting the time-dependent motion of single particles and small
collections of particles within the defined structures, thereby enabling
visualisation of their electrokinetic behaviour.
(iv)
If time
permits, extending the model to include hydrodynamic effects and Brownian
motion, both of which tend to counteract and randomise the electrokinetic
motion.
Project originator: D.W.E. Allsopp, email eesda@bath.ac.uk
Project DWEA3:
Novel method of simulating the propagation of guided lightwaves
Optical fibre networks form one of the main application areas for digital communications techniques. The increasing sophistication of lightwave components for such networks has created a demand for improved methods of simulating their light guiding properties, to ensure good design and to enable technology advances. The aims of this project are to develop a novel but intuitive numerical procedure for solving the paraxial wave equation in three dimensional dielectric optical waveguide structures and apply it to the design of a novel multimode photonic device. Knowledge of MATLAB and/or C or Fortran and an interest in engineering applications of numerical computation are essential for this project.
Project DWEA4:
Optical filters for advanced optical
communications systems
Description: The information carrying capacity of an optical communications network can be greatly increased by sending different messages simultaneously using different wavelength carriers. Optical filters are needed at system nodes to add or drop selectively a particular carrier, thereby routing messages through the network. This is the first of two projects on optical filters and involves developing a computer model to test some novel strategies for realising add/drop filters.
Objectives: Investigate the different strategies used in optical fibre systems for realising narrow pass-band optical filters. Develop a computer model for one of these strategies. Simulate the performance of various filter structures, thereby identifying suitable integrated optoelectronic device strategy for advanced optical fibre systems.
Resources: Access to the University computer network or a high performance PC.
Project originator: D.W.E. Allsopp, email eesda@bath.ac.uk
Project DWEA5:
Integrated mirrors form an essential part of several optoelectronic
devices. A laser is an example in which a medium providing optical gain is
sandwiched between other layers of dielectric material, which act as
mirrors. These then reflect light
beams of growing intensity back through the gain region to increase the output power. Dielectric mirrors can be made up of pairs
of transparent layers having different refractive index, to allow vertical
integration of optoelectronic components into more advanced structures. The aim of this project is to establish
flexible software for designing individual dielectric mirrors. Thereafter, the
project may follow one of several routes. One possibility is to fabricate some
mirrors in our own clean room to a studentŐs design, and then characterise
their performance. Alternatively, the software can be extended to predict the
properties of more complicated structures involving several dielectric mirrors,
or predicting how imperfections in their fabrication degrade their performance.
Output:
Develop software
for designing dielectric mirrors, fabricate and characterise such mirrors; extend
the software to predict the properties of resonant cavities formed by pairs of
dielectric mirrors.
Department of
Electronic and Electrical Engineering
12 February 2005