ESE PhD candidate Jason Lynch, advised by Professor Deep Jariwala, defended his thesis on Low-Dimensional Excitons for Electro-Optics Tuesday, February 17th.
Lynch’s research aims to enable the miniaturization of electro-optical devices. Yet traditional methods to miniaturize electro-optical devices have limitations.
“Traditional electro-optics use 3D crystals with relatively weak electro-optical effects, and as a result, light is only modulated in these systems after propagating tens of microns in the crystal which limit their performance,” Lynch explains. Subsequently, Lynch researched excitonic resonances as an alternative. “They are highly-tunable, especially in low-dimensional systems, which promise to enable high-performance electro-optical devices that are atomically thin.”
When summarizing his research, Lynch says, “my work aims to quantify the electro-optical effects in low-dimensional semiconductors and investigate how coupling excitons to geometric resonance to further boost their performance as electro-optical modulators.”
Throughout his PhD, Lynch had the fortune of working with several talented collaborators. They supplied him with “excellent samples to work with which made my work easier.” Nonetheless, he experienced challenges related to spectroscopic ellipsometry, the primary characterization technique he employed. “With ellipsometry, the challenges have been related to determining how much we can measure with it and fitting the data to extract a material’s properties, but both of these challenges were overcome with time and work.”
Lynch credits many people for his success.
“I’d like to thank my family who have always supported me, my friends who have given me the chance to step away from my work and relax, my committee, and specifically my PI, Deep Jariwala, for their guidance and insights throughout my PhD.”
Beyond his research, Lynch enjoyed events and workshops organized by the ESE Departmment and the ESE PhD Association (EPA).
“I’ve really enjoyed the people I’ve gotten to meet,” Lynch says, adding, “I’ve been able to develop strong friendships with my fellow PhDs that I met at coffee breaks and colloquiums.”
Regarding next steps, Lynch would like to secure a postdoctoral position in academia.
“However, I’m still searching for one so we’ll see how that goes.”
Outside of work, Lynch enjoys playing chess, going on runs, and relaxing with his girlfriend and her cat Dexter.
Learn more about Lynch’s work here