Andrew Weiner - Purdue University

Students: Spring 2025, unless noted otherwise, sessions will be virtual on Zoom.

Femtosecond Optical Signal Processing: Research Towards Optical Encryption at 100 Gb/s

Apr 24, 2002

Abstract

Due to rapid progress in lightwave communication systems, optical fiber data transmission rates can now exceed the processing speeds of electronics. This creates a need for optical signal processing technologies that can operate at very high speeds directly in the lightwave domain. In this talk I first review some of our research on optical signal processing for photonic signals in the femtosecond domain and then discuss two projects focused on realizing security functions at the physical layer. These include: (1) optical parallel-serial conversion technologies potentially enabling construction of encryption hardware operating at 100 Gb/s line rates for optical transmission, and (2) optical spread spectrum research with anti-intercept properties similar to military radio communications.

About the Speaker

Andrew M. Weiner graduated from M.I.T. in 1984 with an Sc.D. in electrical engineering. From 1979 through 1984, he was a Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellow at M.I.T. In 1984, Dr. Weiner joined Bellcore, at that time one of the premier research organizations in the telecommunications industry. In 1989 he was promoted to Manager of Ultrafast Optics and Optical Signal Processing. Prof. Weiner moved to Purdue University in 1992 as Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is currently the Scifres Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering as well as ECE Director of Graduate Admissions. His research focuses on ultrafast optical signal processing and high-speed optical communications. He is especially well known for pioneering the field of femtosecond pulse shaping, which enables generation of nearly arbitrary ultrafast optical waveforms according to user specification.

Prof. Weiner has published four book chapters and over 120 journal articles. He has been author or co-author of over 200 conference papers, including approximately 60 conference invited talks, and has presented over 50 additional invited seminars at universities or industry. He is holder of 5 U.S. patents. Prof. Weiner has received numerous awards for his research, including the Hertz Foundation Doctoral Thesis Prize (1984), the Adolph Lomb Medal of the Optical Society of America (1990), awarded for pioneering contributions to the field of optics made before the age of thirty, the Curtis McGraw Research Award of the American Society of Engineering Education (1997), the International Commission on Optics Prize (1997), the IEEE LEOS William Streifer Scientific Achievement Award (1999), and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Award for Senior U.S. Scientists (2000). He is a Fellow both of the Optical Society of America and of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Prof. Weiner has served on or chaired numerous research review panels, professional society award committees, and conference program committees. In 1988-1989, he served as an IEEE Lasers and Electro-optics Society (LEOS) Distinguished Lecturer. He was General Co-Chair of the 1998 Conference on Lasers and Electro-optics, Chair of the 1999 Gordon Conference on Nonlinear Optics and Lasers, and Program Co-chair of the 2002 International Conference on Ultrafast Phenomena. In addition, he has served as Associate Editor for IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, and Optics Letters. Prof. Weiner served as an elected member of the Board of Governors of the IEEE Lasers and Electro-optics Society from 1997-1999, and is currently Secretary/Treasurer of that organization.

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