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Doing Science in Armenia: From a Personal Outlook to Nanoscale Thermoelectric Photodetectors

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Schematic diagrams of Dr. Kuzanian's research

The Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA presents "Doing Science in Armenia: From a Personal Outlook to Nanoscale Thermoelectric Photodetectors" by Dr. Astghik Kuzanyan. This lecture is co-sponsored by the UCLA Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia.

Friday, May 20, 2022
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Pacific Time)

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Armenia is a rapidly developing country with an emerging high-tech science and industrial base. In this talk, I will give a brief outlook on current trends in Armenian education and science. I will then overview my personal experience in pursuing a scientific career in Armenia and discuss opportunities and challenges. I will then discuss my research topic on Nanoscale Thermoelectric Photodetectors through the prism of Armenian science.

High efficiency photodetectors are relevant to a broad range of science and technology fields, including biophysics, astrophysics, quantum and classical information and telecommunication systems. I will survey different methods of light detection and provide an overview of our ongoing work on thermoelectric photodetectors.

I will overview our theoretical calculations and simulations. I will show that thermoelectric detectors may be used to register single photons. I will discuss the importance of managing heat transfer processes and outline single- and multi-layer designs for optimizing pixel detection. Finally, I will examine noise sources and effects on detection level. I will show calculations of Johnson and phonon noises, and study the detector design to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio at temperatures up to those for liquid nitrogen.

 

Astghik Kuzanyan is a 2021-22 PAI Postdoctoral Fellow in department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UCLA. Astghik got her Ph.D. in Laser Physics from the Supreme Certificate Committee of the Republic of Armenia and her M.S. degree in Radioengineering and Telecommunication from the National Academy of Science of the Republic of Armenia, International Scientific-Educational Centre, and B.S. degree in Radiophysics from Yerevan State University. Astghik's research focuses on Single Photon Detection. She also is a researcher at the Institute for Physical Research of National Academy of Science of Armenia.