News

February 2019

• 

  Photonics Lab Members Selected for Saudi's Delegation to the 69th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

  1 min read · Thu, Feb 28 2019

  News

  ​Two Photonics Lab members, Latifah Al Maghrabi and Dr. Abderrhamen Trichili, have been selected for the Saudi delegation to the 69th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting​, which will be held in Lindau, Germany. The meeting will be dedicated ​to physics with an emphasis on laser physics, cosmology, and gravitational waves. More than 40 Nobel Laurea​tes from around the world have confirmed their participation.
• 

  EE Graduate Seminar: Self-Assembled AlGaInN Axial-Nanowires on Unconventional Substrates

  1 min read · Sun, Feb 10 2019

  News

  Group-III nitrides (AlGaInN) feature direct bandgaps covering a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum, making them suitable for solid-state lighting, chemical/biological sensing, water splitting, medical diagnostics, and optical communication. These nanowires defy the conventional crystal/epitaxial growth requirements of lattice-, thermal and crystal-structure-matching, as the nanostructures can be grown strain- and defect-free on various unconventional substrates, such as silicon and metals. The combinatorial choice of composition, layer-structure arrangement and materials (metal

December 2018

• 

  Guangyu Liu elevated to the rank of Senior Member of IEEE

  1 min read · Thu, Dec 27 2018

  News

  Congratulations to Dr. Guangyu Liu on her elevation to the grade of IEEE Senior member. IEEE Senior Membership is an honor bestowed only to those who have made significant contributions to the profession.
• Brighter blue lights for faster communication

  1 min read · Tue, Dec 11 2018

  News

  electrical engineering communications

  High-performance blue-light-emitting diodes could boost white-light, high-speed data transmission.

October 2018

• 

  Ph.D. student represents KAUST and Saudi Arabia at the 2018 Chicago Forum on Global Cities

  1 min read · Thu, Oct 11 2018

  News

  KAUST Ph.D. student Nasir Alfaraj was recently selected to represent KAUST and Saudi Arabia at the 2018 Chicago Forum on Global Cities in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. The event, which was held from June 5 to 7, was hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and The Financial Times. It brought together more than 80 speakers from 27 countries to discuss the influence of global cities and how attendees could solve pressing global challenges.
• 

  ​Nasir Alfaraj represents KAUST and Saudi Arabia at the 2018 Chicago Forum on Global Cities

  1 min read · Mon, Oct 8 2018

  News

  Photonics Lab Ph.D. student Nasir Alfaraj was recently selected to represent KAUST and Saudi Arabia at the 2018 Chicago Forum on Global Cities in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.​

August 2018

• 

  Special Section on Semiconductor UV Photonics for SPIE's Journal of Nanophotonics

  1 min read · Wed, Aug 15 2018

  News

  Dr. Tien Khee Ng (KAUST Photonics Laboratory) and Prof. Jianchang Yan (Chinese Academy of Sciences) collaborated in guest-editing the SPIE Journal of Nanophotonics (JNP) Special Section on Semiconductor UV Photonics. The issue comprises 12 accepted articles inclusive of 3 review articles. Special Section Guest Editorial: Semiconductor UV Photonics Tien Khee Ng, and Jianchang Yan J. Nanophoton. 12(4), 043501 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JNP.12.043501 http://hdl.handle.net/10754/628715 Review articles 1. Enhancing the light extraction of AlGaN-based ultraviolet light-emitting diodes in the

July 2018

• 

  Semiconductor Today features "KAUST demonstrates nanowire GRINSCH diode for efficient UV-LED/laser applications"

  1 min read · Mon, Jul 23 2018

  News

  "AlGaN-based light-emitting devices are promising ultraviolet light sources to replace the existing UV gas lasers and UV lamps containing toxic substances (mercury). However, the performance of AlGaN-based UV emitters are limited, and in particular high-power UV laser diodes (emitting below 330nm) have not yet been reported. Moreover, the threshold operating voltages of reported UV laser diodes (>330nm) are quite high, surpassing 25V in lasing mode with high series resistance due to poor hole injection efficiency." "These limitations in device performance are attributed to several factors such

June 2018

• 

  Tien Khee Ng elevated to the rank of Senior Member of the Optical Society (OSA)

  1 min read · Wed, Jun 13 2018

  News

  The Optical Society of America announced​ the approval of Dr. Tien Khee Ng as a new Senior Member. In a statement Ian Walmsley, President of The Optical Society and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, said: "The Optical Society welcomes this year’s Senior Class and congratulates these members for their contributions to our global community."

March 2018

• 

  Semiconductor Today features "Semi-polar III-nitride integration for visible light communication"

  1 min read · Mon, Mar 19 2018

  News

  "Researchers based in Saudi Arabia and USA have used semi-polar indium gallium nitride (InGaN) quantum wells (QWs) to create a laser diode (LD) integrated with a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) for visible light communication (VLC), smart lighting, and underwater wireless optical communications (UWOC)." "The team from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) in the USA, and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Saudi Arabia, comments: “Since the on-chip integration of various photonic
• 

  EE Graduate Seminar | AlInGaN Devices for Optical Wireless Communication

  1 min read · Sun, Mar 11 2018

  News

  Optical wireless communication (OWC) has gained its momentum in complementing the role of RF communication. Indoor visible-light communication (VLC), outdoor/terrestrial free-space communication (FSO), and underwater optical wireless communications (UWOC) all uses lasers and light-emitting diodes in realizing high data rate in the Mbit/s to Gbit/sec range. In this talk, we discuss the recent progress in the field of VLC and UWOC, focusing on how researchers capitalize on the advances and innovation in AlInGaN-based devices, to realize compact, small-footprint communication system and
• 

  KAUST Discovery, Phys.org, and eeNews LEDLighting features "Cleaning nanowires to get out more light"

  1 min read · Sun, Mar 4 2018

  News

  "A simple chemical surface treatment improves the performance of nanowire ultraviolet light-emitting diodes." "A technique for reducing the loss of light at the surface of semiconductor nanostructures has been demonstrated by scientists at KAUST." "Some materials can efficiently convert the electrons in an electrical current into light. These so-called semiconductors are used to create light-emitting diodes or LEDs: small, light, energy-efficient, long-lasting devices that are increasingly prevalent in both lighting and display applications." "Postdoc Haiding Sun and his KAUST colleagues

February 2018

• 

  Semiconductor Today features "III-nitride microphotodetector for visible light communication"

  1 min read · Thu, Feb 22 2018

  News

  "KAUST in Saudi Arabia claims a record 3.2 gigabit per second (Gbps) data-rate performance for visible light communications (VLC) at 405nm wavelength. The orthogonal-frequency division multiplex (OFDM) system used an indium gallium nitride multiple quantum well microphotodetector (μPD) receiver and laser diode source with quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) coding." "The researchers want to address the bandwidth and data security challenges for future high-speed mobile Internet, smart traffic, and Internet of Things (IoT). Bandgap limitations make the receiver portion of VLC systems
• 

  UESTC students visit CEMSE Laboratories during a one week Winter Camp at KAUST

  1 min read · Sun, Feb 4 2018

  News

  photonics printable electronics nanoelectronics laser sensors bioimaging biophotonics 3D printing

  Twenty-two undergraduate students from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, are currently visiting the CEMSE Division as part of one week Winter Camp at KAUST.

December 2017

• 

  KAUST Discovery - Unleashing ultraviolet brings visible improvement

  1 min read · Sun, Dec 10 2017

  News

  Secure optical communication UV Communications

  High-speed communication systems based on ultraviolet radiation are now in sight.

November 2017

• 

  Outreach Seminars at Effat University by Prof. Qiaoqiang Gan and Dr. Tien Khee Ng

  1 min read · Wed, Nov 29 2017

  News

  Prof. Qiaoqiang Gan and Dr. Tien Khee Ng presented research seminars on "Fresh Water Generation Using Solar Energy" and "Research at KAUST Photonics Laboratory".​

October 2017

• 

  Boon Ooi elected a fellow of the Optical Society of America

  1 min read · Thu, Oct 5 2017

  News

  "Boon Ooi, professor of electrical engineering in the University’s Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering Division, was recently elected as a Fellow of the Optical Society of America (OSA)."
• 

  CEMSE’s Professor Boon Ooi appointed Fellow of the Optical Society of America (OSA)

  1 min read · Mon, Oct 2 2017

  News

  photonics light fellowship OSA

  Boon Ooi, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Director of the KACST - Technology Innovation Center for Solid-State Lighting, under the Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering Division of KAUST, was recently appointed Fellow of the Optical Society of America (OSA).
• 

  CEMSE's new underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) opens new frontier for off-shore control system

  1 min read · Sun, Oct 1 2017

  News

  Underwater wireless optical communication underwater video transmission

  Billions of liters of fuel travel every day along an intricate network of pipelines. Reports show that 15 thousand kilometers of infrastructure exist worldwide, with more than a third being underwater. Efficient real-time monitoring is the next frontier to achieve improved industrial productivity and prevent environmental accidents.
• 

  OSA Spotlight on Optics features "Continuous-wave optically pumped green perovskite vertical-cavity surface-emitter"

  1 min read · Sun, Oct 1 2017

  News

  "Solution-processed semiconductors have come to rival traditional laser materials at visible wavelengths."

September 2017

• 

  eeNews Europe and Compound Semiconductor features "Researchers prove non line-of-sight UV Li-fi at 71Mbit/s"

  1 min read · Fri, Sep 15 2017

  News

  "Modulating the signal of ultraviolet LED emitting at 294nm, researchers from KAUST have demonstrated a high-speed near-solar-blind communication link with a data rate of 71 Mbit/s. Using UV-B light has several benefits..."
• 

  KAUST Discovery - No strings attached for underwater video system

  1 min read · Thu, Sep 14 2017

  News

  An underwater wireless optical communications system for streaming high-quality, live video.​

August 2017

• 

  KAUST Discovery - Fewer defects from a 2D approach

  1 min read · Sun, Aug 13 2017

  News

  Flatter materials have fewer imperfections, which makes for better solar cells and light sensors.
• 

  Semiconductor Today features "Near-ultraviolet laser diodes powering visible light communication"

  1 min read · Wed, Aug 9 2017

  News

  "First demonstration of near-ultraviolet (NUV) laser diodes (LDs) and red-green-blue (RGB) phosphors for white visible light communication (VLC)."

April 2017

• 

  Tien Khee Ng presented an invited talk "Nanowires for Optoelectronic and Solar Water Splitting Applications" at AOM 2017

  1 min read · Tue, Apr 25 2017

  News

  Tien Khee Ng presented an invited talk and chaired a Micro/nano Optics, Nanophotonics session at the 6th Conference on Advances in Optoelectronics and Micro/Nano-optics at Nanjing, China (April 23-26, 2017).
• 

  Compound Semiconductor and Nanowerk features "KAUST Team Reveals Thermodynamic Disorder In GaN-Based Nanowires"

  1 min read · Tue, Apr 25 2017

  News

  "New study shows the thermodynamic entropy behaviour of InGaN/GaN nanowires." "GaN-based p-i-n power devices based on nanowires are suitable for attenuators, high-frequency switches, as well as photodetector applications. However, non-radiative recombination affects their performance." "Led by Xiaohang Li, Iman S. Roqan, and Boon S. Ooi, the team studied the photoinduced entropy of InGaN/GaN p-i-n double-heterostructure nanowires using temperature-dependent photoluminescence." "They hypothesised that the amount of generated randomness in the InGaN layers in the nanowires eventually increases
• 

  Feeling the heat in cells

  1 min read · Sat, Apr 8 2017

  News

  sensors heat transfer nanomembrane

  New nano-sized sensors provide unprecedented data on how heat diffuses in and out of living cells.
• 

  SCI Chemistry & Industry features "What a bright idea"

  1 min read · Tue, Apr 4 2017

  News

  "Thomas Alva Edison’s incandescent light bulb, patented in 1879, has served us well for more than a century. But, in the modern eco-conscious environment, it is fantastically wasteful – turning 98% of the electricity into heat rather than light." http://www.soci.org/chemistry-and-industry/cni-data/2016/9/what-a-bright-idea

March 2017

• 

  Semiconductor Today features "Semi-polar indium gallium nitride laser diode/waveguide photodiode combo"

  1 min read · Fri, Mar 24 2017

  News

  "Researchers based in Saudi Arabia and USA have integrated a waveguide photodetector (WPD) with a 405nm laser diode (LD) using free-standing semi-polar gallium nitride (GaN) technology." http://www.semiconductor-today.com/news_items/2017/mar/kaust_240317.shtml
• 

  EE Graduate Seminar | Towards Efficient Fuel Alternatives: Unbiased Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation from Pure Water using III-Nitride Nanowires

  1 min read · Sun, Mar 19 2017

  News

  By Dr. Mohamed Ebaid: The expected depletion of fossil fuel reserves and its severe environmental impact have emphasized the need for sustainable and clean energy resources. Solar hydrogen generation from water splitting using sunlight and semiconductors is a promising alternative to conventional fossil fuels, which has great potential to relieve energy and environmental issues and bring an energy revolution in a clean and sustainable manner. To be practical, hydrogen production needs to tackle the challenges of high solar-to-hydrogen (STH) energy conversion efficiency and high stability of
• 

  EE Graduate Seminar | Hybrid perovskites: approaches towards green lasing

  1 min read · Sun, Mar 19 2017

  News

  By Dr. Mohd Sharizal Alias: The high optical gain and absorption of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have attracted extensive research for photonic device applications. Using the bromide halide as an example, we present key approaches of our work towards realizing green lasing in hybrid perovskites. The approaches involved determination of optical constants for the hybrid perovskites thin films, understanding the material morphologies, fabrication of photonic nanostructures to reflect and manipulate light emission from the perovskite active media, and enhancing the emission property of the
• 

  Compound Semiconductor features "Researchers Simplify Fabrication Of Nanowire UV-LEDs On Silicon"

  1 min read · Mon, Mar 6 2017

  News

  KAUST team demonstrates dislocation-free AlGaN nanowires that spontaneously coalesce to allow device fabrication without planarization. https://compoundsemiconductor.net/article/101173-Researchers-simplify-fabrication-of-nanowire-UV-LEDs-on-silicon.html

February 2017

• 

  SPIE Newsroom features "Perovskite nanocrystals as color converters for record-breaking visible light communications"

  1 min read · Wed, Feb 22 2017

  News

  Cesium lead bromide perovskite nanocrystals are used to generate white light that can be used as both an efficient lighting source and for ultrafast data transfer. https://doi.org/10.1117/2.1201611.006756
• 

  Laser-Based Horticulture Technology

  1 min read · Sat, Feb 11 2017

  News

  Laser horticulture

  KAUST Innovation & Economic Development technology license and video: A Laser-Based Illumination Technology for Indoor Horticulture Applications.
• 

  Advanced Science News Research Highlight: "Thermal-Transport Biosensor Distinguishes Different Types of Cancer"

  1 min read · Thu, Feb 2 2017

  News

  Biosensors

  "Scientists from KAUST in Saudi Arabia succeeded in differentiating between two different types of cancer (cervical and breast cancers), and also between subtypes of the same cancer (basal and luminal cancer cells) by measuring their thermal-transport properties."

December 2016

• 

  KAUST 7th Commencement: Dr. Ahmad Ali Al-Jabr, Dr. Hala H. Al-Hashim, Dr. Amanda Ooi, and Master Edgars Stegenburgs

  1 min read · Mon, Dec 19 2016

  News

  ​Dr. Ahmad Ali Al-Jabr, Dr. Hala H. Al-Hashim, Dr. Amanda Ooi, and Master Edgars Stegenburgs graduates from KAUST Class of 2016!
• 

  Dr. Khan and KFUPM students visited the Photonics Laboratory

  1 min read · Thu, Dec 8 2016

  News

  The visit was a part of KFUPM EE420 (Optical Fiber Communication) senior level course field trip.
• 

  IEDM 2016 session "Optoelectronic Integration" chaired by Prof. Ooi and Chao Shen presents his work

  1 min read · Tue, Dec 6 2016

  News

  optoelectronics Laser Diodes

  During the 62nd IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) conference 2016 Prof. Ooi chairs a session and Chao Shen presents his work.

November 2016

• 

  Nature Middle East Research: Nanomembrane Biosensor

  1 min read · Wed, Nov 30 2016

  News

  Biosensors

  Nature Middle East Research Highlight: "Sifting through cells using heat"
• 

  UNFCCC Marrakech 2016 COP22

  1 min read · Fri, Nov 18 2016

  News

  Prof. Ooi joined the Saudi Arabia convoy in UNFCCC Marrakech Climate Change Conference 2016. The 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference is held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and is expected to be attended by delegates from 196 countries.

October 2016

• 

  EE Times Europe News: "Nanowire LED fills the green-yellow gap in white light"

  1 min read · Fri, Oct 28 2016

  News

  LED

  "KAUST and KACST have come up with a novel way to fill the “green-yellow gap” typically seen in white-LED implementations based on multiple phosphors."
• 

  Chao Shen​ wins the 2nd place in 2016 IEEE Photonics Society​ Student and Young Professional Poster Competition

  1 min read · Tue, Oct 11 2016

  News

  Visible light communications

  Congratulations! The poster competition is part of IPC 2016 (IEEE Photonics Conference).

September 2016

• 

  Celebrating Global Recognition - KAUST ranks #1 in Citations per Faculty in 2016/17 QS Rankings

  1 min read · Thu, Sep 8 2016

  News

  KAUST ranks #1 in Citations per Faculty and #19 for the largest growth in high-quality research contributions among the world's universities.

August 2016

• 

  Step into the white light for faster communication

  1 min read · Sat, Aug 13 2016

  News

  electromagnetic waves nanocrystals laser emission data communication

  Nanocrystals that generate white light could help combine lighting and communications systems into one.

July 2016

• 

  Phys.org features "Improved nanoscale patterning using aniodine or xenon difluoride gas"

  1 min read · Mon, Jul 18 2016

  News

  optoelectronic devices

  "A technique developed by scientists at KAUST has made more controlled fabrication of optoelectronic devices produced from a hybrid of organic and inorganic materials possible."
• 

  Nanoscale patterning is better with gas

  1 min read · Sat, Jul 2 2016

  News

  optoelectronics material science and engineering

  Adding a gas enhances the processing of hybrid organic-inorganic materials for improved solar cells.

June 2016

• 

  Ahmad Ali Al-Jabr defended his thesis and graduated with a PhD degree. Congratulations!

  1 min read · Mon, Jun 20 2016

  News

  Ahmad Ali Al-Jabr has successfully defended his PhD thesis "Development of Strain-Induced Quantum Well Intermixing Technique on InGaP/InAlGaP Laser Structures and Demonstration of First Orange Laser Diode."
• 

  ACS C&EN, Phys.org, IET E&T, Laser Focus World, OPN, Futurism, AlJazeera, EE Times, Lux Review, and others features "Bandwidth record for data communication using laser-based visible light"

  1 min read · Wed, Jun 15 2016

  News

  Visible light communications

  "In this bandwidth hungry era, there will be a continuous push by consumers for VLC systems with higher bitrates," Ooi said. "We believe that white light generated by semiconductor lasers will one day replace the LED white light bulb for energy-efficient lighting."
• 

  Prof. Boon Ooi and Lab members attended CLEO:2016 in San Jose, USA

  1 min read · Wed, Jun 8 2016

  News

  Prof. Boon Ooi, Chao Zhao, Chao Shen and Hassan Oubei at CLEO:2016 in San Jose, USA.​

May 2016

• 

  Semiconductor Today’s editorial features "Quantum well/barrier intermixing blue-shift of InGaP"

  1 min read · Wed, May 4 2016

  News

  ​KAUST has developed a quantum well intermixing technique to blue-shift indium gallium phosphide (InGaP) quantum well bandgaps to give 628nm red, 602nm orange and 585nm yellow electroluminescence.