Yaping Zhang

Biography

My work experience over the last 30 years has been divided between various world leading high-tech industries and the academic field. My expertise lies mainly in the fields of design and fabrication of advanced semiconductor laser and photonic devices, integrated photonics circuits, semiconductor physics, telecommunication, fibre optics, photonics, nanotechnology, optical biosensing technology, electromagnetics and electromagnetic compatibility, and spintronics devices. On completion of my PhD studies at The University of Nottingham, I subsequently worked for a number of eminent semiconductor component and subsystem companies in the UK and a RF company in the Europe. These included Marconi Optical Components/Bookham Technology Plc, Farfield Photonics, Thales in Netherlands, Centre for Integrated Photonics (CIP), and ZiNIR. I have designed many most advanced commercial optoelectronic devices, optical components and photonic integrated subsystems for these companies, including the currently most advanced widely tunable laser from Bookham Technology Plc.(currently renamed as Oclaro). From 2004 to 2007, I worked as a research fellow at the University of Nottingham, UK. Before moving to UK, I was an associate Professor in the Science and Technology Information Centre, and was in charge of providing assessment and analysis on technology development of high power laser technologies, high power microwave technologies and optoelectronics technologies, and accordingly providing technical support for the National 863 High Power Laser and High Power Microwave Programme. Recently, I am actively involved with commercial development of advanced semiconductor lasers, including narrow band/wide band tunable lasers, RF directly modulated tunable lasers (DML) and DFBs. In 2016, Yaping Zhang’s Zhejiang 1000-talent project “Narrow band tunable laser development project” had made a national highlighted breakthrough achievement in China in the field of design and fabrication of advanced lasers, which for the first time successfully produced tunable lasers in commercial scale, and therefore was awarded one of the top 10 commercial achievements in China in the optical field. Besides, I became interested in the application of telecom technologies in sensing technologies, and was subsequently awarded a UK Patent for a “Lab-On-Chip” Biosensor, and designed a monolithic spectrometer chip for gas monitoring for ZiNIR Ltd.  

Research Interest

Technology exploration of advanced semiconductor components and subsystems for next generation optical communication applications. Technology development of photonic/nano/meta materials and devices for emerging applications. Optical “Lab-On-a-Chip” biosensing technology and instrument development for a wide range of applications, including bioscience and biotechnology, pharmaceutical research and industry; clinical tests and diagnoses in surgeries and hospitals; food industry; defence and homeland security. Electromagnetic compatibility applications.