Photonics Applications of Photothermal Polymer Media

Juan Hernández-Cordero, Ph.D.
Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, UNAM
A.P. 70-360, México D.F. 04510, México

Interaction of laser radiation  with metallic and carbon  nanoparticles has shown  to provide optically triggered responses of otherwise transparent media.  As an example, incorporation of these materials in polymers has lead to generation of plasmonic and photothermal effects through the enhanced optical absorption of these nanoparticles. This presentation will cover our recent research on the thermal effects attainable with polymer  media  with  embedded  carbon  nanoparticles.    I  will  focus  on  photonics applications of these composite media, and more specifically, on their use for developing optical fiber and optofluidic devices.

Juan Hernández-Cordero  received his BSc.  degree in  electrical engineering from  the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 1992. He earned a Master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the Division of Engineering at Brown University in 1996 and 1998, respectively. He then spent a year as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Laboratory for  Lightwave  Technology  in Boston University. He is currently a  full time  tenured researcher at the Materials Research Institute (IIM) of the UNAM, where he has established the Laboratory for Fiber Lasers and Optical Fiber Sensors. His fields of interest include optical fiber sensors, fiber lasers and fiber devices.