Abstract
In vacuum electronic devices, or “vacuum tubes,” free electrons exchange energy with electromagnetic waves. This energy exchange can lead to dramatic oscillation or amplification of these waves, and vacuum-tube oscillators and amplifiers have a long history in influential technologies, from early radar systems to modern space-to-earth communications. In this talk, professor Putnam will discuss a new chapter in the story of vacuum tubes: photonics and microscopy. Specifically, he will explore how free electrons can exchange energy with near-infrared photons in electron microscopes. He will explain how we can engineer and control these interactions. He will also cover how these interactions could enable revolutionary electron microscopy capabilities and novel photonic technologies for quantum sensing and information.
Biography
Billy Putnam is an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Davis. There, he leads a research team exploring interactions between free electrons and light waves. The team is exploring the science and applications of these interactions from electronic frequencies, in the radio-frequency (RF) domain, to near-infrared frequencies, in the realm of photonics. Before joining UC Davis, Putnam worked as a staff scientist at Northrop Grumman’s basic research laboratory (NG NEXT), and he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Hamburg and the associated Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL). He received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from MIT, and outside of research, he and his team are passionate about education in electromagnetics and optics.
