LEADERSHIP | FACULTY | STAFF

Daniel Blumenthal, Ph.D.

UCSB
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
5163 Engineering I
Santa Barbara, CA 93106

Tel: (805) 893-4168
Fax: (805) 893-3262
Email: danb@ece.ucsb.edu
Website:
http://www.ece.ucsb.edu/
Faculty/Blumenthal/default.html

Research Interests:

My research interests lie in the area of optical communications and networks and the underlying technologies needed to implement these systems. We have active programs on integration in the InP material system to realize optical switching and wavelength conversion technologies. For example these systems on a chip are used to perform optical packet switching operations. However, even the current integration techniques limit the density in which photonics for a real system function can be squeezed on chip. So we are investigating with other CNSI faculty a new generation of "Nanophotonics" that we hope will be used for the future "VLSI" of photonic systems on chip. We believe that photonic crystals, electro-magnetic induced transparency, and other new small dimension guided wave approaches coupled with new materials will spawn the next generation of photonic integration for optical networks. This level of integration is necessary to bring down the cost of photonics as a pervasive technology. Selected Publications

  • X. Yan, M. Masanovic, D. J. Blumenthal, "A New Simple Process for Optical Mode Converter Integration with Active and Passive Waveguides in InGaAs/InP," Topical Meeting on Integrated Photonic Research, Monterey, CA., June 11-13 (2001).
  • M. Masanovic, E. Skogen, J. Barton, J. Sullivan, D. J. Blumenthal, L. A. Coldren, "Cascaded Multimode Interference-Based 1x2 Light Splitter for Photonic Integrated Circuits," IPR, OAA '02,Vancouver,Canada, Jul 14-17 (2002).
  • D. J. Blumenthal, "Integrated Devices for Wavelength-Agile All-Optical Networks," Invited Paper, IPR, OAA '02,Vancouver,Canada, Jul 14-17 (2002).
  • M. Davanco, L. Thylen and D. J. Blumenthal, "An extremely narrowband directional coupler wavelength filter based on electromagnetically induced transparency," IPR, OAA '02,Vancouver,Canada, Jul 14-17 (2002)
  • D. J. Blumenthal, "Routing Packets with Light," Scientific American 284(1), 79-83, January, 2001. (Invited)

Biography:

Daniel J. Blumenthal received the B.S.E.E. degree from the University of Rochester, New York, in 1981, the M.S.E.E. degree from Columbia University in 1988, and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1993. In 1981 he worked at StorageTek of Louisville, CO, in the area of optical data storage. In 1986, he worked at Columbia University in the areas of photonic switching systems and ultra-fast all-optical networks and signal Processing. From 1993 to 1997 he was Assistant Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is the Associate Director for the Center on Multidisciplinary Optical Switching Technology (MOST) and Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California - Santa Barbara. His current research areas are in optical communications, wavelength division multiplexing, photonic packet switched and all-optical networks, all-optical wavelength conversion, optical subcarrier multiplexing, integrated-optic chip scale WDM and nanophotonic technologies. He has authored or co authored over 100 papers in these and related areas. Dr. Blumenthal is recipient of a 1999 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from the White House and the DoD, a 1994 NSF Young Investigator (NYI) Award and a 1997 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award. He has served as an Associate Editor for IEEE Photonics Technology Letters and the IEEE Transactions on Communications. He was a Guest Editor for the IEEE Journal of Lightwave Technology Special Issue in Photonic Packet Switching Systems in December, 1998. Dr. Blumenthal has served as the General Program Chair for the 2001 OSA Topical Meeting on Photonics in Switching and as Program Chair for the 1999 Meeting on Photonics in Switching. He has also served on numerous other technical program committees including the Conference on Optical Fiber Communications OFC (1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000) and the Conference on Lasers and Electrooptics CLEO (1999 and 2000). Dr. Blumenthal is a Senior member of the IEEE, and a member of the Optical Society of America and the Lasers and Electrooptic Society.