On the Origin of Microsystems: The Symbiosis of Electronics and Photonics

The major improvements in the quality of our lives stemming from the microelectronics industry during the past few decades gives a clear clue of the dramatic impact that we should await from multiple emerging technologies such as MEMS, photonics, microfluidics, etc.
Nowadays it is not hard to imagine the skies filled with drones and smart streets swarming with autonomous cars. It is expected that robots will soon enter our daily lives and that we will have hospital grade diagnostic equipment in our pockets. These applications will be centered around microsystem technologies.
I will discuss my research on developing a chip-scale 3D micro-imager that is enabled by co-design and integration of electronics and photonics that can find application in medical fields and rapid prototyping. I will also present other examples of hybrid electronic-photonic systems, such as optical gyroscopes and 3D cameras for a network of self-driving cars and drones. Further synthesis of optoelectronics with MEMS and biomedical devices can establish a path for the evolution of microsystem technology and lead to unprecedented possibilities, such as chip-scale spectroscopy tools for environmental monitoring and point-of-care medical diagnostics.

Behnam Behroozpour is a Ph.D. candidate in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Department at the University of California, Berkeley. He will graduate in May 2016. He received his M.Sc. degree in Microsystems and Microelectronics from University of Twente in the Netherlands, 2012, and his B.Sc. degree from Sharif University of Technology in Iran, 2010.
Behnam is recipient of University of Twente Scholarship, UC Berkeley EECS Department Fellowship, Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC) award for Outstanding Research Paper, and Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship. His interest areas include integrated optoelectronic systems, microsystems, and integrated circuits. He is currently conducting research on chip-scale lidar technologies for 3D imaging and mapping applications.