IEEE selects Dallesasse as Fellow

Associate Professor John Dallesasse, an MNTL faculty researcher, has been selected as a 2015 Fellow by the IEEE for contributions to the oxidation of III-V semiconductors used in photonic device manufacturing. Achieving Fellow status with IEEE, one of the world’s largest professional technology associations, is a prestigious honor and career achievement.

Dallesasse co-discovered the oxidation technique in 1989 with Professor Emeritus Nick Holonyak, Jr. This process of forming high-quality oxide layers in and on aluminum-bearing III-V compound semiconductors is widely used in industry today and has made vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers practical for many applications, including optical data links in enterprise networks and data centers.

“I’m very happy to be recognized and feel gratitude toward all of the research groups and companies whose follow-on work has helped to make III-V oxidation an important technology,” said Dallesasse, who is also affiliated with the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory. “The pervasive use of VCSELs in data centers and enterprise networks means that most of the information we send and receive passes through an oxide aperture. Seeing the ultimate impact of your work provides the greatest satisfaction.”

Before joining the Illinois faculty in 2012, Dallesasse worked in the photonics industry for 20 years, where he developed new devices and transceivers for optical networking while working as an engineer, technical manager, and executive manager. He also co-founded Skorpios Technologies, a fabless integrated silicon photonics system on a chip company in Albuquerque, N.M., and served as its chief technology officer.

At Illinois, Dallesasse’s research focuses on photonic integration for next-generation optical networks. His research group recently announced the development of a new type of laser for applications in the mid-IR wavelengths through THz frequencies. The transistor-injected quantum cascade laser may someday be used to test air and water quality, enhance semiconductor manufacturing, and improve early detection of cancer and other diseases.

An ECE ILLINOIS alumnus, Dallesasse (BSEE '85, MSEE '87, PhD '91) holds 28 patents, serves on the Technical Advisory Board for Vega Wave Systems, is the chief technology advisor with Skorpios Technologies, and is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America.