Diffractive and Holographic Optics
RESEARCH FACULTY
Diffractive and holographic optics makes use of the wave nature of light and the principles of diffraction and interference effects. Pioneered by scientists like Thomas Young during the eighteenth century, optical interference is at the basis of many areas including spectroscopy. More recent applications of optical interference includes holography, discovered by Dennis Gabor in 1947, which allows the recording of three-dimensional images and is considered for future optical storage and imaging technologies.
(Courtesy of B. Kippelen)
Today, diffractive optical elements are playing a central role in spectrometers and in modern imaging systems. They are employed in the latest lens technologies in which chromatic aberrations (color defects) of conventional refractive lenses can be minimized. Diffractive optics, found on almost every credit card in the form of a sparkling hologram, is increasingly used on bank notes and other security applications. It plays a central role in dense wavelength demultiplexing (DWDM), one of the key technologies in optical communications.
(Courtesy of B. Kippelen)
By studying the interaction of light with new nanostructured media, researchers at Georgia Tech are developing next-generation diffractive and holographic elements that will find use in tomorrow's reconfigurable optical networks, in the next generation of ultrafast processors that will be based on optical interconnects, and in high-speed, high-capacity holographic storage systems.
