9520256 Dagenais This award establishes a joint Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Optoelectronic Devices, Interconnects, and Packaging between the University of Arizona and the University of Maryland. The Center will focus its activities in the areas of optoelectronic devices, interconnects, and packaging. Both universities will join as equal partners. The University of Arizona will contribute its pioneering experimental an theoretical activities in nonlinear photonics, optical switching devices, semiconductor laser research, and interconnects. The University of Maryland will contribute its strength in the areas of optoelectronic device processing, semiconductor lasers and semiconductor laser amplifiers, optical interconnects, silicon bench technology, lasers and semiconductor laser amplifiers, optical interconnects, silicon bench technology, characterization, and packaging. The merging of the two groups will lead to a new found synergism as the interaction between Center participants is built up and as the research goals converge. The participation of faculty members from each institution in each Centers' projects will strongly be encouraged. Fourteen companies and Government Agencies are becoming members of this joint university Center. The initial research agenda at the two research sites will address: 1) Optic Interconnect Development for Advanced Processing and Network Systems; 2) Holographic Interconnects for Optical Neural Networks and Other Applications; 3) Theory of Semiconductor Nonlinearities; 4) Semiconductor Lasers and All-Optical Switches; 5) Near to Mid-Infrared Optical Parametric Oscillators; 6) Novel Optoelectronic Devices; 7) Waveguide Waferboard Project; 8) Semiconductor Laser Amplifiers: Packaging and Applications; 9) Characterization and Modeling of Acousto-Optic Correlators; 10) Process and Device Characterization. An undergraduate student will be supported for one year with funds provided by the Women, M inorities, and Disabled Engineering Research Assistants Program. The student will be involved in measurements of solid state dye lasers for preparing compact, low- cost lasers for different regions of the spectra.
