Dr. H.K. Haugen, Chair

Professor and Chair
Department of Engineering Physics

McMaster University
1280 Main Street West, Hamilton
Ontario, Canada  L8S 4L7

office: JHE/A315
email:  haugenh@mcmaster.ca
voice:  (905) 525-9140 x 23335
fax:    (905) 527-8409

*Cross appointed with Physics and Astronomy

Co-leader of the BIMR's Photonics Research Laboratories

B.Sc. (Acadia), M.Eng. (McMaster), Ph.D. (Aarhus, Denmark), L.E.L.

 

Research Interests

Femtosecond Laser Ablation and Micromachining

In recent years femtosecond laser ablation and micromachining has been an emerging area, offering new opportunities for materials processing due to the qualitatively different interactions of ultrashort light pulses with solids. The work in our laboratory on femtosecond laser – materials interactions covers a broad range, directed both at fundamental studies as well as applications. The ultrafast laser pulses can be utilized to modify materials on the nanometer or micron length scales, and undertake precision laser machining. In these projects, we work closely with the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy (CCEM) within the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research. The capabilities of the CCEM enable detailed studies of the final state of laser-modified targets through a host of capabilities including transmission electron microscopy, scanning probe microscopy, focused ion beam techniques, high-resolution optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. In the future, we anticipate extending the experimental work to include collaborations at the national and international levels, and to undertake computer simulations of selected aspects of laser-solid interactions.

Development of Compact Sources of Ultrashort Light Pulses

We have been developing compact sources of ultrashort light pulses based on semiconductor diode laser and doped optical fibre technologies. The mode-locked diode laser oscillators are configured in an external cavity and amplification has been achieved through Yb-doped fibres. The semiconductor laser fabrication is done at the facilities of the Centre for Emerging Device Technologies (CEDT) at McMaster University, and graduate students have been very much involved in this process. More recently we have undertaken computer simulations of the fibre-based amplification processes and we plan to extend the scope of these calculations in the near future. These R&D activities on compact sources of ultrashort light pulses are part of an initiative within the Canadian Institute for Photonics Innovations (CIPI), and have involved interactions and collaborations with colleagues at other institutions.

Applications of THz Radiation

The application of THz radiation is a rapidly developing area of R&D worldwide, both in wide-ranging interdisciplinary applications as well as in fundamental science. Ultrafast THz radiation capabilities have been established in our laboratory based on nonlinear optical conversion and electro-optical detection using near-visible femtosecond light pulses from our Ti:sapphire laser systems. The ultrafast pulse capability enables pump-probe experiments whereby the properties of a material can be altered on an ultrashort time frame and the recovery of the target can be monitored as a function of time. We have used these capabilities for a number of experiments including the determination of nonlinear optical coefficients for selected semiconductors, and the study of carrier relaxation in optically-excited ion-irradiated silicon. Our group has also been part of an initiative to establish high intensity THz capabilities at the Advanced Laser Light Source (ALLS) at INRS in Montreal.

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Selected Recent Publications

A.J. Budz, J. Waisman, H.F. Tiedje, H.K. Haugen, “Short-pulse dual-wavelength system based on mode-locked diode lasers with a single polarization maintaining Yb:fiber amplifier”, Journal of Lightwave Technology, 27, 3415 (2009)

H.M. Hsu, T.H.R. Crawford, C. Maunders, G.A. Botton, H.K. Haugen, “Cross-sectional study of periodic structures on gallium phosphide induced by ultrashort laser pulse irradiation”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 221112-1 (2008)

T.H.R. Crawford, J. Yamanaka, E.M. Hsu, G.A. Botton, H.K. Haugen, “Femtosecond laser irradiation of metal and thermal oxide layers on silicon : studies utilizing cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy”, Appl. Phys. A, 91, 473 (2008)

T. H. R. Crawford, J. Yamanaka, G. A. Botton, H. K. Haugen, “High-resolution observations of an amorphous layer and sub-surface damage formed by femtosecond laser irradiation of silicon”, J. Appl. Phys. 103, 053104-1 (2008)

A. Weck, T. H. R. Crawford, D. S. Wilkinson, H. K. Haugen, J. S. Preston, “Laser drilling of high aspect ratio holes in copper with femtosecond, picosecond, and nanosecond pulses”, Appl. Phys. A 90, 537 (2008)

F. Blanchard, L. Razzari, H.-C. Bandulet, G. Sharma, R. Morandotti, J.-C. Kieffer, T. Ozaki, M. Reid, H. F. Tiedje, H. K. Haugen, and F. A. Hegmann, “Generation of 1.5 micro-Joule single-cycle terahertz pulses by optical rectification from a large aperture ZnTe crystal”, Optics Express 15, 13212 (2007)

A. J. Budz and H. K. Haugen, “Wavelength and Repetition-Rate Tunable Mode-Locked Semiconductor-Seed-Source for Yb-Fiber-Amplifier Systems,” IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett., 19, 1412 (2007)

A. J. Budz and H. K. Haugen, “Ultrashort Pulse Amplification at 1080 nm with a Long-Wavelength InGaAs/GaAs Flared Amplifier,” J. Lightw. Technol., 25, 3766 (2007)

E. M. Hsu, T. H. R. Crawford, H. F. Tiedje, H. K. Haugen, “Periodic surface structures on gallium phosphide after irradiation with 150 fs - 7 ns laser pulses at 800 nm”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 111102 (2007)

A. Weck, T. H. R. Crawford, D. S. Wilkinson, H. K. Haugen and J. S. Preston, “Ripple Formation During Deep Hole Drilling in Copper with Ultrashort Laser Pulses”, Appl. Phys. A 89, 1001 (2007)

H.F. Tiedje, H.K. Haugen, and J.S. Preston, “Measurement of Nonlinear Absorption Coefficients in GaAs, InP and Si by an Optical Pump THz Probe Technique”, Opt. Commun. 274, 187 (2007)

M. Couillard, A. Borowiec, H.K. Haugen, J.S. Preston, G.A. Botton, E.M. Griswold, “Sub-surface Modifications in InP Induced by Single and Multiple Femtosecond Pulses : a Study on the Formation of Periodic Ripples”, J. Appl. Phys. 101, 033519-1-8 (2007)

A.J. Budz, A.S. Logan, D. Strickland, H.K. Haugen, 2007, “Ultrashort Pulses from a Mode-Locked Diode-Oscillator Yb-Fiber-Amplifier System”, IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 19, 94 (2007)

T.H.R. Crawford and H.K. Haugen, “Sub-wavelength surface structures on silicon irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses at 1300 and 2100 nm wavelengths”, Appl. Sur. Sci. 253, 4970 (2007)

B.M. van der Ende, R.L. Brooks, H.F. Tiedje, and H.K. Haugen, “Measurement of the 4F5/2 and 2H(2)9/2 manifold lifetime in Nd3+:Y3Al5O12 and Nd3+:LaF3”, accepted for publication, J. Lumin. 124, 311 (2007)

B.M. van der Ende, R.L. Brooks, H.F. Tiedje, H. Sun, and H.K. Haugen, “Measurement of the 4F5/2 and 2H(2)9/2 manifold lifetime in Nd3+:YLiF4”, Journal of Luminescence 117, 13 (2006)

H.E. Ruda, J.C. Polanyi, J.S.Y. Yang, Z. Wu, U. Philipose, T. Xu, S. Yang, K. L. Kavanagh, J. Q. Liu, L. Yang, Y. Wang, K. Robbie, J. Yang, K. Kaminska, D. G. Cooke, F. A. Hegmann, A. J. Budz and H. K. Haugen, "Developing 1D nanostructure arrays for future nanophotonics", Nanoscale Res. Lett. 1, 99 (2006)