Best Student Papers

1^st Place (800 USD)
Mr. Saverio Pellegrini, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Estimation Accuracy of Polarization State from Coherent Receivers for Sensing Applications

We experimentally investigate on the intrinsic accuracy in fiber State of Polarization estimation from the DSP of commercial coherent tranceivers, in terms of angular uncertainty on the Poincaré’s sphere vs. received OSNRs, for sensing applications. We then demonstrate how using a moving average enhances accuracy.

1^st Place (800 USD)
Ms. Sara Zaminga, Telecom Paris, France
Free-Space Gigabit Data Transmission with a Directly Modulated Interband Cascade Laser Epitaxially Grown on Silicon

This work demonstrates mid-infrared data transmission using an epitaxial interband cascade laser on silicon emitting at 3.5 µm. Direct modulation at 5 Gbit/s with on-off keying is achieved at room temperature while digital signal processing is used to further improve the system performance.

3^rd Place (300 USD)
Ms. Yanyu Xiong, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA
Photonic Crystal Enhanced Fluorescence with DNA-based Nano-gripper for Ultrasensitive SARS-CoV-2 Biosensing

DNA-origami based nano-grippers, integrated with aptamer-based nanoswitches, generate fluorescent signals when detecting SARS-CoV-2. The integration of Photonic Crystal Enhanced Fluorescence Microscope enables a 104-fold enhancement compared to a single fluorophore reporter on glass substrate, providing a promising tool for ultrasensitive detection and rapid diagnostics.

Honorable Mention (150 USD)
Mr. Isaac Luntadila Lufungula, Ghent University – IMEC, Belgium
Tunable Dual Wavelength Laser on Thin Film Lithium Niobate

We experimentally demonstrate a tunable dual wavelength laser on thin film lithium niobate. By combining a micro-transfer printed amplifier with a Vernier cavity containing a periodically poled region, we realize a tunable laser in the telecom band and partially convert it to its second harmonic.

Honorable Mention (150 USD)
Ms. Chau Truong, University of Central Florida, USA
Single-shot Waveform Measurement of Shortwave Infrared Pulses for Nonlinear Propagation Detection

The measurement of few-cycle laser waveforms allows access to light-matter interactions on sub-fs time scale. We demonstrate that single-shot waveform measurement in shortwave infrared range can be implemented by exploiting multiphoton excitation in solid and its ability to observe the phase shift in nonlinear propagation.