Caroline Epstein ’27, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Caroline Epstein ’27

Major

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Project Title

Design and Fabrication of On-chip Environmental Sensors Using Frequency Combs

Presentation Link

View Caroline's Presentation

Minor(s): Finance

My project aimed to measure quantum cascade lasers, specifically ring lasers’ ability to emit coherent frequency combs which has applications in environmental sensing, such as for detecting air pollution. I designed and installed a Light-Current-Voltage setup to measure the light intensity, current and voltage of the lasers fabricated by graduate students in the lab. The setup consisted of a detector for the light to pass through and be detected. This detector was connected by wires to equipment that enabled us to measure the amount of light emitted when we concurrently pulsed a voltage through the laser to emit light. There were many obstacles in designing this setup, which required us to adapt the setup or fix the lasers. We collected data manually and also worked to develop and debug a Python program to computerize measurements. These data can be built upon in future as they will allow characterization of the lasers’ spectrums which could then be used in optical spectroscopy. This internship has motivated me to take classes in environmental studies alongside my engineering requirements and to futher explore these environmental applications.