Texas Tech University

Nano Tech Center

                 

Contacts

 
Co-Director

 
Ayrton Bernussi, Ph.D.

ayrton.bernussi@ttu.edu

Phone: 806.834.8583

 
Co-Director

 
Luis Grave de Peralta, Ph.D.

luis.grave-de-peralta@ttu.edu

Phone: 806.834.1460

Web Address   www.depts.ttu.edu/ntc

Purpose

NTC

The study of light-emitting and light-sensing materials at the nanoscale (one-thousandth of the width of a hair) will lead to a new generation of devices that are light-weight, highly efficient, consume low power, and are cost-effective. The future shows the great promise of photonic device applications in military (e.g., communications and remote sensing), homeland security (e.g., biological and chemical threat detection and warning), and in the future of commercial and residential lighting.

Research Focus

Researchers in the Nano Tech Center at Texas Tech are creating groundbreaking materials that produce light at deep UV, blue/green, and infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. These advances in material creation have the potential to enhance the efficiency of devices such as light–emitting diodes, lasers, and photodetectors.

Recent Developments

  • The first team to demonstrate light emitting diodes (LEDs) at the deep ultraviolet wavelengths of 280 and 260 nm, critical for sensing chemical and biological hazards.
  • The first team to demonstrate solar–blind photodetectors with cutoff wavelengths of 260 and 247 nm for communications and astrophysics.
  • Demonstrated nanoengineering approaches for producing factor of 100 intensity improvements in deep ultraviolet LEDs, and for designing surface nanotextures to enhance insertion and extraction efficiencies of LEDs and photodetectors.
  • Demonstrated reconfigurable all optical add/drop multiplexer for telecommunications.
  • Demonstrated generation of arbitrary sequences of ultrafast pulses using planar lightwave circuits for coding and decoding information.