June 13th 2023, 2 pm, Lecture hall Rose Dieng and online

The continuing growth in demand for bandwidth (from residential and business users), necessitates significant research into new photonic technologies that will be employed in future broadband communication systems. One specific technology which has become increasingly important for future photonic systems is the optical frequency comb. Optical frequency combs have many applications for future photonics systems, including the development of spectrally efficient optical transmission systems and the generation of mm-wave and THz signals for future 6G wireless applications.  Optical frequency combs are thus at the leading edge of current photonics systems research, and their detailed understanding promises new applications in all-optical signal processing, optical sensing and metrology, and specifically telecommunications. This talk will focus on the development and characterization of optical frequency combs, and then outline how these sources can be employed for developing future communication systems and networks.

Liam Barry received his BE (Electronic Engineering) and MEngSc (Optical Communications) degrees from University College Dublin in 1991 and 1993 respectively. From February 1993 until January 1996 he was employed as a Research Engineer in the Optical Systems Department of France Telecom’s Research Laboratories (now known as Orange Labs) in Lannion, France, and as a result of this work he obtained his PhD Degree from the University of Rennes in France. In February 1996 he joined the Applied Optics Centre in Auckland University, New Zealand, as a Research Fellow before taking up a lecturing position in the School of Electronic Engineering at Dublin City University in 1998, and establishing the Radio and Optical Communications Laboratory. He is currently a Professor in the School of Electronic Engineering, a Principal Investigator for Science Foundation Ireland, and was elected to the Royal Irish Academy in 2019.. His main research interests are; all-optical signal processing, optical pulse generation and characterization, hybrid radio/fibre communication systems, wavelength tuneable lasers for reconfigurable optical networks, and optical performance monitoring. He has published over 500 articles in international peer reviewed journals and conferences, and holds 10 patents in the area of optoelectronics. He is a TPC member for the European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC) and Optical Fibre Communication Conference (OFC), and served as ECOC Co-Chair for ECOC2019 in Dublin