Pengyu Fan

Title: Innovations of Pengyu Fan in Semiconductor Technology

Introduction

Pengyu Fan is a prominent inventor based in Stanford, CA (US). He has made significant contributions to the field of semiconductor technology, holding 2 patents that showcase his innovative approach to enhancing photon absorption and optical wavefront shaping.

Latest Patents

One of his latest patents focuses on semiconductor nanowire antenna solar cells and detectors. This invention demonstrates a method for patterning planar photo-absorbing materials into arrays of nanowires, which increases the total photon absorption in a given thickness of absorbing material. The method provides faster, cheaper, and more efficient photo-detectors and solar cells. A thin nanowire can absorb many more photons than expected from its size due to the support of cylindrical particle resonances, which collect photons from an area larger than the physical cross-section of the wire. These resonances are known as Mie resonances or Leaky Mode Resonances (LMRs). The nanowires can have various cross-section shapes, including square, circle, rectangle, and triangle.

Another significant patent involves dielectric metasurface optical elements. This invention provides optical wavefront shaping using an ultrathin layer of nanoscale geometric Pancharatnam-Berry phase optical elements deposited on a substrate layer. The optical elements consist of nanobeams made from high refractive index dielectric material. These nanobeams are uniformly sized and shaped, arranged with less than 200 nm separations and spatially varying orientations, allowing the optical device to have a spatially varying optical phase response capable of optical wavefront shaping. The materials used are compatible with semiconductor electronic fabrication, including silicon, polysilicon, germanium, gallium arsenide, titanium dioxide, or iron oxide.

Career Highlights

Pengyu Fan has worked at notable institutions such as Leland Stanford Junior University and Technion Research & Development Foundation Limited. His work has significantly impacted the development of advanced semiconductor technologies.

Collaborations

He has collaborated with esteemed colleagues, including Mark Luitzen Brongersma and Dianmin Lin, contributing to the advancement of research in his field.

Conclusion

Pengyu Fan's innovative work in semiconductor technology, particularly in enhancing photon absorption and optical wavefront shaping, demonstrates his commitment to advancing the field. His contributions are paving the way for more efficient solar cells and photo-detectors,