Optics provides the opportunity to work with huge bandwidths, substantially greater than with electrical circuits. The challenge is to harness the bandwidth to process signals in a meaningful and efficient way. Our imagination and the range of applications that could potentially benefit from Photonic Signal Processing provide the driving force for our research.

Research Areas

• Photonic signal processing including novel signal generation and characterization and microwave photonics
• Integrated optics including polarization control, mid-infrared devices, sensors, and ring resonators
• Fiber-optic intrusion sensor/perimeter monitor
• Optical filters (synthesis, analysis, adaptive and active filters)
• Dispersion and high-speed optical signals

Professor Christi Madsen Director of the Institute for Solid State Electronics and Electro-optics Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Room 728 Jack E. Brown Building Phone (979) 845-4935 Fax (979) 845-5398 cmadsen@ece.tamu.edu

Bio BSEE University of Texas at Austin, 1986 MSEE Stanford University, 1987 PhD Rutgers University, 1996 Experience AT&T Bell Laboratories, 1986-1996, Member of Technical Staff in Submarine Systems. Lucent Technologies Bell Laboratories, 1996-2004, Integrated Optics Research at Murray Hill, NJ. Distinguished Member of Technical Staff 2002-2004. Texas A&M University, 2004-present, Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

MIRTHE, an NSF-Sponsored Engineering Research Center, is a world-class, interdisciplinary team of engineers, chemists, physicists, environmental and bioengineers, medical doctors, and educators, in academia and industry. The goal of MIRTHE is to develop mid-infrared optical trace gas sensing systems with the ability to detect minute amounts of chemicals found in the atmosphere, emitted from factories or exhaled in human breath. If made small, easy to use and extraordinarily sensitive, such sensors could transform aspects of the way doctors care for patients, local agencies monitor air quality, governments guard against attack and scientists understand the evolution of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In our research group, we are focusing on mid-infrared optical waveguide design and fabrication in collaboration with researchers at Princeton, Rice, University of Maryland at Baltimore County, City College of New York, and Johns Hopkins University. This work will enable optical processing at mid-infrared wavelengths for compact and potentially low-cost sensing devices.

Research Opportunities

Information on research opportunities for undergraduates, MS and PhD graduate students and postdoctoral study may be found on the Research Opportunities page.