Michael Krainak

"Coherent optical receivers for communication and science instruments"

ABSTRACT -- Coherent heterodyne optical receivers provide near-quantum limited sensitivity via photo-mixing a narrowband local oscillator (lasers) with a weak optical signal. We discuss the history of the technique in science instruments and over the last decade in terrestrial fiber optic communications with photonic integrated circuits. We discuss our new PICASSO program award for the Photonic Integrated Circuit TUned for Reconnaissance and Exploration (PICTURE) - a mid-infrared heterodyne spectrometer. The PICTURE instrument is based on integrated photonics technology that offers ultra-small size, weight and power (SWaP) with non-moving parts and low cost for future planetary missions.

SPEAKER -- Dr. Michael Krainak received his BS in electrical engineering from Catholic University and MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He started his career as a telephone switch office field engineer for AT&T Western Electric. He worked for nine years at the National Security Agency in the Computer Research Group. His PhD research was on real-time holography in photorefractive crystals. He had a short sabbatical at AT&T Bell Laboratories in the Optical Computing Laboratory. For twenty-eight years, he worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in the Lasers and Electro-Optics Branch on inter-satellite laser communications and lidar systems. In 2001, he worked at the semiconductor laser start-up - Quantum Photonics Inc.. He served as the NASA representative to the American Institute of Manufacturing (AIM) Integrated Photonics Consortium. He recently retired from NASA and is presently the Chief Technology Officer at Relative Dynamics Inc. working on satellite optical communications. Michael continues work on NASA science instruments under the NASA Emiritus program.

Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov