Join us as our ECE postdoc talks about his research experiences involving working in different academic faculties (physics and electrical engineering), on the epitaxial growth of III/V semiconductors for high-efficiency mid-infrared light sources through band-structure engineering and optical design. Mid- infrared LEDs, like their visible counterparts, are a technologically significant component that are used for sensing and scene projection. However, the 10-100x lower overall efficiency of mid- IR LEDs compared to visible LEDs leaves ample room for improvement.

While our presenter’s present work is focused on device fundamentals and novel science, his Ph.D. work was very applied. Aaron was involved in the development of state- of-the-art scene projection systems now being used in leading government labs. His experience spanning the pre-prototype and prototype stages of development provides unique insight into the various problems and layers of development associated with scaling up single devices to highly scaled arrays.

 Aaron Muhowski is a postdoctoral fellow working in Prof. Wasserman's group at UT Austin on the epitaxial growth and characterization of nanostructured mid-infrared emitters. He received a PhD in Physics from the University of Iowa in 2019 for work focusing on the epitaxial growth and characterization of high-efficiency mid-infrared superlattice LEDs under the supervision of Prof. John Prineas, and BS in 2014 from the University of Wisconsin. His research interests include crystal growth by molecular beam epitaxy, and the design and characterization of mid-infrared optoelectronic devices leveraging the novel and exotic properties available in the antimonide semiconductor system.