Dr. Aaron Hawkins
Department Chair - Electrical and Computer Engineering
Director of BYU Integrated Microfabrication Lab (Cleanroom)
Faculty Member Since 2002
Director of BYU Integrated Microfabrication Lab (Cleanroom)
Faculty Member Since 2002
Bio / Gallery
Education
Professional Experience
Courses Taught
Aaron Hawkins earned the B.S. degree in Applied Physics from Caltech and the Ph.D. degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Before joining the faculty at BYU in 2002, he was a cofounder of Terabit Technology in Santa Barbara, California, and later worked as an engineer for CIENA and Intel. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and OSA. He served as the Editor-in-Chief for the IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics and currently serves as the Vice President for Publications for the IEEE Photonics Society. He has authored or coauthored nearly 400 technical papers and was the co-editor of the Optofluidics Handbook, a defining text on the new field of optofluidics. He also co-authored the textbook Practically Magic, A Guide to Electrical and Computer Engineering. At BYU, Dr. Hawkins directs the university's cleanroom facility and co-directs a flagship undergraduate research program called IMMERSE.
Dr. Hawkins is also an amazing writer. You can find his short stories at 500ironicstories.com
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Ph.D - Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of California, Santa Barbara
Dissertation: Silicon-Indium-Gallium-Arsenide Avalanche Photodetectors
1998
Dissertation: Silicon-Indium-Gallium-Arsenide Avalanche Photodetectors
1998
M.S. Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of California, Santa Barbara
1996
1996
B.S. (Honors) Applied Physics
California Institute of Technology
1994
1994
Co-founder and Consultant
Fluxus Technologies, Santa Clara, CA
Specialist in chip fabrication, device integration and packaging
2016 - Present
Specialist in chip fabrication, device integration and packaging
2016 - Present
Scientific Board Member and Co-founder
LiquiLume Technologies, San Joes, CA
- Oversaw attempts to transfer chip fabrication to commercial foundries
- Assisted with proposal writing and pitches to venture capital firms
2011 - 2013
- Oversaw attempts to transfer chip fabrication to commercial foundries
- Assisted with proposal writing and pitches to venture capital firms
2011 - 2013
Consultant
Palmer Technologies, Provo, UT
- Designed thin-film based electrodes for compact mass spectrometer
- Oversaw electrode fabrication on silicon and ceramic substrates
2004 - 2006
- Designed thin-film based electrodes for compact mass spectrometer
- Oversaw electrode fabrication on silicon and ceramic substrates
2004 - 2006
Staff Applications Engineer
Intel Corporation, Calabasas, CA
- Provided technical support to networking customers for Intel's products from the optical fiber layer to the framer including TIAs. LIAs, Laser Drivers, CDRs, Mux and Demuxes, and FECs
- Perform systems and component level testing for new products including noise characterization, jitter performance, S-parameter measurements, and sensitivity measurements and predictions
- Set product specifications for next generation devices for SONET and Ethernet applications
2001 - 2002
- Provided technical support to networking customers for Intel's products from the optical fiber layer to the framer including TIAs. LIAs, Laser Drivers, CDRs, Mux and Demuxes, and FECs
- Perform systems and component level testing for new products including noise characterization, jitter performance, S-parameter measurements, and sensitivity measurements and predictions
- Set product specifications for next generation devices for SONET and Ethernet applications
2001 - 2002
Principle Engineer
CIENA Corporation, Santa Barabara, CA
- Lead technical effort to bring InGaAs-Silicon avalanche photodiodes (APDs) to commercial viability at 10 Gbit/s, creating world's most sensitive optical receivers
- Hired, trained, and supervised a team of engineers and technicians to create and validate component processes, DC and RF testing procedures, package designs, and device reliability
- Oversaw and scheduled component production utilitizing $2M annual budget
1998 - 2001
- Lead technical effort to bring InGaAs-Silicon avalanche photodiodes (APDs) to commercial viability at 10 Gbit/s, creating world's most sensitive optical receivers
- Hired, trained, and supervised a team of engineers and technicians to create and validate component processes, DC and RF testing procedures, package designs, and device reliability
- Oversaw and scheduled component production utilitizing $2M annual budget
1998 - 2001
Vice President of Research and Development
Terabit Technology Incorporated, Santa Barbara, CA
Co-founded company based on graduate research
Oversaw $15M corporate acquisition of Terabit by CIENA Corporation
Built semiconductor cleanroom and procured processing and testing equipment with $2M capital equipment budget
1997 - 1998
Co-founded company based on graduate research
Oversaw $15M corporate acquisition of Terabit by CIENA Corporation
Built semiconductor cleanroom and procured processing and testing equipment with $2M capital equipment budget
1997 - 1998
Graduate Student Researcher
University of California, Santa Barbara
Reported world record gain-bandwidth-product for optical detector
Invented technique of InGaAs to silicon wafer fusion
1994 - 1997
Reported world record gain-bandwidth-product for optical detector
Invented technique of InGaAs to silicon wafer fusion
1994 - 1997
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
Worked in hydrodynamics testing group modeling X-ray production from large radiographic machines
1992 - 1993
Worked in hydrodynamics testing group modeling X-ray production from large radiographic machines
1992 - 1993
Teaching Assistant
Applied Physics Department, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
Graded, conducted recitations, and supervised labs for undergraduate optics class
1993 - 1994
Graded, conducted recitations, and supervised labs for undergraduate optics class
1993 - 1994
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Chemistry Department, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
Assisted with time-of-flight mass spectrometry experiments
1991 - 1992
Assisted with time-of-flight mass spectrometry experiments
1991 - 1992
ECEn 555 - Optoelectronic Devices
Design, operation, and fabrication of modern optoelectronic devices, including photodiodes, photovoltaics, LEDs, and lasers
ECEn 550 - Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)
Design, fabrication, and applications of MEMS. Mechanical properties governing their design and reliability and the processing technologies used to fabricate them.
ECEn 490 - Solar Lighting, Free Space Optical Communications, Lightsuits
Senior Project. No Link.
ECEn 475-476 - Capstone
Two-semester design experience from conception to manufacturing planning and prototype. Product development process. Economic and manufacturing considerations. Intellectual property agreement required.
ECEn 452 - Experiments in Integrated Circuit Development
Measurements of key silicon properties and fabrication of integrated circuits.
ECEn 450 - Introduction to Semiconductor Devices
Physics of electronic and optical solid state devices; includes semiconductor materials, bipolar and FET device physics and modeling, optical properties of semiconductors, and lasers.
ECEn 212 - Introduction to Circuits
No longer taught - Now ECEn240 (includes lab)
ECEn 191 - New Student Seminar
Understand the discipline of electrical and computer engineering and its many roles in the modern technological world. Hawkins developed the course and wrote the textbook