This award is for the support of a collaborative research by Dr. Clifford Pollock, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Cornell University and Dr. Alphan Sennaroglu, Assistant Professor of Physics at Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey. The scientists aim at developing a room temperature, broadly tunable solid-state laser based on chromium-doped zinc selenide (Cr:Z-S). This laser will be suitable for applications such as remote sensing, LIDAR, and medical diagnosis. They will investigate ways of pumping the laser crystals using powerful continuous wave lasers, and explore methods for improving the Cr:Z-S crystal quality to reduce optical losses. They also plan to investigate Cr:Z-S waveguide structures, which would accommodate diode laser pumping. Scope: This project will support collaboration between a recognized leader in the field of optoelectronics and a young scientist at a new university in Turkey. The Turkish scientist received his Ph.D. degree four years ago under the P.I.'s supervision, and has since done significant research work, with important publications in the field, since his graduation. It is expected that this project will enable the two scientists to resume collaboration, this time between their respective laboratories, to their mutual benefit. The project fits well within the objectives of the Division of International Programs.
