Physics Colloquium: Ultrafast Lasers: Shaping Optical Materials and Integrated Photonics

Physics Colloquium
Ultrafast Lasers: Shaping Optical Materials and Integrated Photonics

Dr. Jie Qiao
Associate Professor, Imaging Science
Rochester Institute of Technology

Event Details:
Ultrafast lasers enable precise control of light–matter interactions on extreme temporal and spatial scales. Their femtosecond pulses drive nonlinear absorption and highly localized energy deposition inside transparent materials, enabling controlled structural modification with sub-micrometer confinement. In this talk, Jie Qiao presents ultrafast-laser direct fabrication as a unified approach for shaping freeform optical surfaces and creating three-dimensional integrated photonic structures. Demonstrations of nanometer-level precision in freeform optics achieved through deterministic laser processing will be discussed, revealing deterministic control of optical surface figure at the nanometer scale. The talk will also highlight advances in monolithic integration, including direct inscription of functional waveguide lasers across dissimilar optical materials, pointing toward digitally driven fabrication and seamless integration of next-generation optical and photonic systems.

Bio:
Prof. Jie Qiao, Ph.D., is Director of the Advanced Optical Fabrication, Instrumentation, and Metrology Laboratory in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science at Rochester Institute of Technology. She leads a team of Ph.D. students advancing ultrafast-laser–enabled direct fabrication of precision optics and integrated photonics. Her research focuses on femtosecond-laser figuring and polishing of high-precision optical surfaces, three-dimensional direct laser writing of waveguide lasers and photonic devices, and laser welding of dissimilar optical materials. Prof. Qiao is a Fellow of Optica and previously served as a Fulbright Scholar to France and as an Associate Editor of Optics Express. She currently serves as Program Chair for the 27th International Symposium on Laser Precision Microfabrication (LPM 2026).

Intended Audience:
All are Welcome!

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