The Pleasure of Finding Things

Out
Optical Society of America

Deborah Berebichez, Ph.D.

July, 2009
 Feynman, Photonics and
Communications

The ideal physics

professor. Utterly
brilliant and engaging,
he was an inspiration.
"An honest man, the outstanding
intuitionist of our age, and a prime
example of what may lie in store for
anyone who dares to follow the beat of a
different drum" - Dr. Julian Schwinger
Problem with science is that a lot
of people don’t find it interesting
or relevant

“I find it odd when an

introduction mentions that I
play the bongo drums it
rarely finds it necessary to
mention that I also do
theoretical physics. It shows
that we have more respect
for the arts than for
science.” Richard Feynman
“Don't blindly accept the word of authority. Test it for
yourself! And this is what science does. It tests and it
tests again, and it doubts and it doubts—always.”
Feynman
 Feynman’s Open Questions

“There is Plenty of Room at the

Bottom” 1959 Feynman challenged
physicists to write the entire
Encyclopedia Brittanica on the head
of a pin
He was predicting nanotechnology

Feynman examines Bill McLellan’s motor, 1960

We actually did it!

Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities:12 characters per

micron. (Stanford University)
 And the Story Continues…

The S U Hologram
Fabricating these tiny objects is not easy
What are Photonic Crystals?
•Photonic crystals are periodic
optical nanostructures that are
designed to affect the motion of
photons

•They work by affecting the propagation of

electromagnetic waves (EM)

•Photons (waves) propagate through the structure - or

not - depending on their wavelength. Wavelengths of
light that are allowed to travel are known as models
 Trapping
Light in
Photonic
•ByCrystals
making point defects in a
photonic crystal, light can be
localized, trapped in the defect.

•The repeating regions of high and low dielectric

constants have to be of ~200 nm (blue) to 350 nm (red) .
This makes the fabrication of optical photonic crystals
cumbersome and complex.
Let me tell you why it matters…
Recent research shows promise in trapping light in
crystals to build waveguides, or to replace electron
storage for computer logic

Quantum computers will harness the power of atoms

and molecules to perform memory and processing tasks
10X faster than silicon based ones
Let me tell you how we helped…

Modeling the trapping of

light in crystals
Courant Institute, NYU and Department of
Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics,
Columbia University
Optimization of Scattering Resonances
Journal of Mathematical Optimization
P. Heider D. Berebichez R.V. Kohn M.I. Weinstein
Physics is the act of modeling the
world
Simulating Physics with Computers
Waves are everywhere!
 More Waves:
Communications
Wireless
communications
with desired users
Stanford University
Time-Reversal for Focusing Waves
 WHAT IS TIME-REVERSAL?
It is reversing the order in which a series of waves
arrive at a defined position

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
It can compress signals and focus them on a
desired target, ex: lithotripsy, targeted ads,
secure communications
 Conventional waves disperse
when traveling through a medium

Communicating with
time reversal

Focusing waves has

applications in several areas
such as secure wireless
communications
 IMAGINE THE FOLLOWING SCENARIO…

Using time-reversal, when sending a secret message, the

sender could ensure that only one location would receive the
message. Interceptors at other locations would only pick up
noise due to unfocused waves.
 t0 Time Reversal T
explained

source 2.8m

T – t0
detecto 2.4m
r
2.59m
 A picture of what happens in
space

FWD
phas
e

1 2

BWD
phas
e

3 4
 The Two Main Results of TR
From Long Time-Dispersion… From a State of Multiple Scattering…

Temporal Compression
Spatial Focusing
of the Acoustic Wave
to within λ/2
to the Initial Pulse
From original λ=2.6 cm

λ=1.29
red: original cm
blue: after TR
With TR The Bit Stream is
Recovered
Recompressed signal after TR
obtained at Rx

-1
+1
We Recover the Bit Stream: { 0, 1, 1+1
}
 Computational Model
Wave Equation

where r0 = source location and r = any position in the enclosure

Initial
Pulse Dirichlet
Reflecting
Neumann
Boundary
Conditions Absorbing

Initial ,
Conditions
Solve, We Use a FDTD Numerical Schem
23
Waves in Empty Room with
Reflecting Walls
Close-up near source

Side Lobes = 35%

of the Main Peak
 Image Sources due to Reflecting
Boundaries

Actual
Detector

Actual
Domain

Actual
Source
 Image Sources due to Reflecting
Boundaries
Acoustic Field after TR in Enclosure with reflecting walls
Room with Multiple Detector
κ=1
Close-up near source

ZOOM
+
Enclosure with Multiple
Detectors
and Randomly-Placed
κ = 1Close-up near source
Scatterers

ZOOM
+
Room with Absorbing Boundaries
Field in the room at the Refocusing Time

Close-up near source

ZOOM
+
Enclosure with Randomly-Placed
Scatterers and a Single Detector

Close-up near source

ZOOM
+
 Spatial Focusing after TR
a. b.
Ballisti Diffus
c e
Sectio Sectio
Normalized
n n
Field in
Enclosure
after TR

Wave Field
Around the
Source
Conclusions on TR Communications

• Spatial Focusing ⇒ Only the Intended

Receiver Gets the Message

• Temporal Compression ⇒ Bit Streams can

be Recovered with Fidelity and Relatively
Low Interference
 TR works without line of sight

Tx

Message focuses at desired Rx

location
 Experimental TR: Measurement
locations
LOCATION A
2km
LOCATION B
29 floors (5, 19,
28)
1.2km 28 floors (19,
Balconies SW & 29)
NE 2.6km

LOCATION C

7 floors (roof)
COMMUNICATIONS IN INDOOR BUILDINGS
(UWB)

SECURE WIRELESS
COMMUNICATIONS THAT
REACH ONLY THE INTENDED
RECEIVER AND CANNOT BE
INTERCEPTED
 UNDERWATER ACOUSTIC
COMMUNICATIONS
Antisubmarine warfare and underwater communications that benefit
from targeted signaling
 IN THE BATTLEFIELD: LOCATING
SOLDIERS AND FINDING TANKS IN
COMPLICATED FOLIAGE SCENARIOS

•Since spatial focusing can deliver focused

energy at the intended receiver it can have
applications also in homeland security and
military communications. SPONSORS: NSF, ONR,
DOE, DARPA, Intel UWB
 Science is fun!
But: People get discouraged at a young
age to be analytical, scientific or
technologically oriented

We can change that!

 Why Now?
• We’re not growing enough
scientists, especially compared to
India and China
• The Problems that need solving
need science: Energy, Climate,
Genetics, Medicine, IT
• Good Citizens need to understand
scientific issues to be informed,
good voters
The
Science
of
Everyday
Life
 It’s good to see a

cool
Woman doing science

science and
I want to study

biology
-Ana, age 14
 I enjoy being in the
lab
thank you for showing me that A
Woman
Can do
Ximena, age 16

Science
Thank You for your
Attention
To engage people, we need to make science
easy to relate to, fun, relevant and personal

E+Sc+Ee=C 2
 To engage people, we need to make science
easy to relate to, fun, relevant and personal

E+Sc+Ee=C 2

Entertainment + Scientific Content + Everyday

Experiences =

Cool Comprehension

“The physics of high heels," "chemistry in the kitchen," "new

hi-tech gadgets for women," “going fashionably green”