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16 SMT007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2019 of the latest trends. Our last panel was called "The Next Big Thing," which talked about upcoming technologies. That is one of our big topics every year; we look to see what's trending, what's disruptive, and how we can embrace the change to enhance technology for the benefit of humanity. We're always looking for what that might be. I see that continuing for as long as I can imagine. Johnson: Companies in this space that are actively looking to develop new talent with unique perspectives and the latest training and education should be involved here. Smith: Yes, I firmly believe that. Johnson: Thank you, Matt. This has been great. Smith: Thank you, Nolan. SMT007 from our attendees about what they would like to see in the future. We need more volunteers to help plan and execute the conference to maintain this momentum. Our team works with IEEE booth staff to give our attendees the opportunity to volun- teer at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which typically follows the conference within a couple days. It has been very popular, and we've received a lot of positive feedback regarding the partnership and experience at CES. I wouldn't be surprised to see something collaborative evolve that involves CES in a way that we haven't yet seen. I think we'll also see more variety in the conference agenda regarding professional and technical tracks as we continue to evolve. These topics change, so what we presented back at the first Rising Stars Conference may not be applicable today. We have to stay on top Researchers at Yale University have developed a device that combines mechanical vibration and optical fields to control light particles better. The device has demonstrated an efficient on-chip shap- ing of photons enabled by nanomechanics driven at microwave frequencies. Led by Hong Tang—the Llewellyn West Jones, Jr. Professor of Electrical Engineer- ing, Applied Physics, and Phys- i c s — t h e re s u l ts of t h e i r w o r k a re p u b l i s h e d in Nature Photonics. Currently, the most common technique for manipulating photon frequency is with nonlinear opti- cal effects where a strong laser essentially acts as a pump, controlling the color and pulse shape of a signal photon. However, the effect is weak, so the process requires a very strong laser, which creates noise. To break these limits, the Yale researchers created a device that consists of a series of waveguides. Light and microwave frequencies are sent through the device, and the light wends its way through alternating suspended and clamped waveguides on a single chip. This creates a positive and negative effect, corresponding to the microwave frequency. The light spirals in each of the waveguides to prolong the interaction and maximize efficiency. Mechanical vibrations modulate the optical phase in each suspended waveguide spiral. This accumulates to gener- ate what's known as deep phase modulation. Previously, the Tang lab had created a single waveguide device. With this new device, the alternating positive and nega- tive waveguides dramatically boost efficiency. (Source: Yale University) Photonics Breakthrough: Device That Shakes Light