During Summer 2011, I participated in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program at Michigan Tech. An overview of the project is listed below.
Project: “Determination of the Acousto-Optic Effect in Polymer Waveguide Materials”
Adviser: Dr. Christopher T. Middlebrook
Phase I
- Create an experimental set-up to measure and test the acousto-optic effect
Phase II
- Verify set-up with known sample, such as Lithium Niobate(LiNbO3) and calibrate
- Test assorted waveguide polymer materials for acousto-optic effect
- Record all steps and results
Phase III
- Determine the photo-elastic constant of each material tested
The final results were inconclusive and more research needs to be done on the subject.
Elizabeth F. C. Dreyer 