Prof. Dr. Mikhail Belkin

Academic Career and Research Areas

Prof. Belkin’s research interests are focused on developing optoelectronic and integrated photonics solutions in the mid-infrared (mid-IR, λ ≈ 2.5-30 µm) and terahertz (THz, λ ≈ 30-300 µm) spectral regions. These spectral regions host numerous applications, such as vibrational spectroscopy and microscopy, chemical and biomedical imaging and sensing, free-space communications, terahertz imaging and many others. However, most of the present-day mid-IR and THz instrumentation relies on thermal sources or bulky nonlinear optics systems, mechanical devices for beam modulation and control, and free-space optical setups. We work to facilitate the transition of these bulky systems to compact solid-state systems based on widely-tunable electrically-pumped semiconductor light sources, fiber-optics, and integrated photonics platforms. We also exploit opportunities offered by the new mid-IR and THz photonics technologies for applications.

Prof. Belkin received his PhD degree in Physics from University of California at Berkeley in 2004. In 2004-2008 he did his postdoctoral work in Prof. Federico Capasso group at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He then joined the faculty of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. In 2019, Prof. Belkin joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Walter Schottky Institute of the Technical University of Munich as a Chair of Semiconductor Technology.

Awards

• Fellow of the SPIE (2018)
• Fellow of the OSA (2016)
• Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Wilhelm Bessel Research Award (2015)
• DARPA Young Faculty Award (2012)
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2012)