H. Francis

1. Research Interests

Currently in the final year of a PhD which focuses on the design, fabrication and characterisation of semiconductor photonic devices. Particular interests lie in developing innovative nano-scale devices for on-chip integration of microwave photonics. Applicable skills in cleanroom-based fabrication and optical characterisation has led to a successful PhD. Both learning and teaching throughout the PhD has stemmed a keen interest in furthering an academic career.

2. Education

Feb. 2017-currentPh.D, Electronic and Electrical EngineeringUniversity of SheffieldSupervisors- Dr Chaoyuan Jin and Prof. Mark Hopkinson
Sep.2011-Jul. 2015M.Eng, first class honours, Electronic EngineeringBangor UniversitySupervisor- Dr Zengbo Wang
Sep. 2009-May. 20113 A-levels, A-C in Electronics, Maths and ArchitectureRichmond College

3. Teaching Experience

  • Co-supervision of 3 M.Sc and 2 M.Eng Students：Produced and managed various student projects that successfully conveyed the design and measurement of semiconductor photonic devices
  • Laboratory Demonstrator：Part of a team that demonstrated various complex theories to undergraduate students through practical laboratory sessions

4. Relevant Research Skills

FabricationMeasurementComputing
1. Plasma etching and deposition
2. Electron beam lithography
3. Wet etching
4. Scanning Electron Microscopy		1. Micro-photoluminescence
2. Time resolved micro-photoluminescence
3. Optical bit rate multiplying
4. Continuous flow cryostat sample cooling
5. Ellipsometry		1. MATLAB
2. Comsol
3. Rsoft
4. Labview

5. Academic Awards

  • Best Student Paper Award —— IEEE International Conference 3M-NANO, Hangzhou, 2018
  • Best M.Eng Project Poster Award —— Bangor University, 2015
  • 1st place ‘Enterprise by Design’ —— Bangor University, 2014
PapersConferenceBooks
2021
Optical frequency comb generation via cascaded intensity and phase photonic crystal modulators

H. Francis, X.D. Zhang, S. Chen, K.J. Che, M. Hopkinson, C.Y. Jin
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, vol. 27, 2021.

2020
Photonic integration of uniform GaAs nanowires in hexagonal and honeycomb lattice for broadband optical absorption

S. Behera, P.W. Fry, H. Francis, I. Farrer, C.Y. Jin, M. Hopkinson
AIP Advances 10, 105211,2020.

Control of Q factor in laterally-coupled vertical cavities

S. Chen, H. Francis, H.C. Hua, K.J. Che, Y.R. Wang, M. Hopkinson, S.Y. Zhang, C.Y. Jin
IET Optoelectron, Vol. 14, pp. 100-103, 2020.

Broadband, wide-angle antireflection in GaAs through surface nanostructuring for solar cell application

S. Behera, P. W. Fry, H. Francis, C.Y. Jin, M. Hopkinson
Scientific Reports, vol. 10, 6269,2020.

Generating optical frequency combs via nanoscale photonic structures.

H. Francis, S. Chen, K.J. Che, X.D. Zhang, M. Hopkinson, C.Y. Jin
Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices XXVIII (Vol. 11274, p. 1127412). International Society for Optics and Photonics, 2020.

Broadband, wide-angle antireflection in GaAs through surface nano-structuring for solar cell applications

S. Behera, P. Fry, H. Francis, C.Y. Jin, M. Hopkinson
Scientific Reports, vol. 10, p. 6269, 2020.

Theoretical modelling of single-mode lasing in microcavity lasers via optical interference injection

L.F. Wang, Y.R. Wang, H. Francis, M.J. Xia, F. Liu, M. Hopkinson, C.Y. Jin
Optics Express, vol. 28, issue 11, pp. 16486-16496, 2020.

Generating optical frequency combs via nano-scale all-optical modulators

H. Francis, S. Chen, K.J. Che, M. Hopkinson, C.Y. Jin
Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices XXVIII, 1127412, 2020.

2019
Photonic Crystal Cavity-Based Intensity Modulation for Integrated Optical Frequency Comb Generation

H. Francis, S. Chen, K.J. Che, M. Hopkinson, C.Y. Jin
Crystals, pp. 1–10, 2019.

2018
Thermodynamic processes on a semiconductor surface during multi-beam laser interference patterning

Y.R Wang, C.Y. Jin, C.H. Ho, S. Chen, H. Francis, M. Hopkinson
IET Optoelectronics, Vol. 13, pp. 7-11, 2018.

Generation of optical frequency combs using a photonic crystal cavity

H. Francis, S. Chen, C. H. Ho, K.J. Che, Y.R. Wang, M. Hopkinson, C.Y. Jin
IET Optoelectronics, Vol. 13, pp. 23-26, 2018.

Modulating photonic crystal structures to generate optical frequency combs

H. Francis, S. Chen, K.J. Che, Y.R. Wang, C.H. Ho, M. Hopkinson, C.Y. Jin
IEEE International Conference on Manipulation, Manufacturing and Measurement on the Nanoscale, pp. 55-59, 2018.

Quality factor control in laterally-coupled vertical cavities

S. Chen, H. Francis, Ho Chi-Hua, K.J. Che, Y.R. Wang, M. Hopkinson, S.Y. Zhang, C.Y. Jin
IEEE International Conference on Manipulation, Manufacturing and Measurement on the Nanoscale, pp. 60-64, 2018.