Eli Yablonovitch along with Sajeev John, was one of the two physicists who invented the field of photonic crystals in 1987. In addition to pioneering photonic crystals, he was the first to recognize that a strained quantum well laser has a significantly reduced threshold current compared to its unstrained counterpart. This technique is now applied to the majority of semiconductor lasers fabricated throughout the world.

Currently, he is a professor of electrical engineering at UCLA and continues to study and develop photonic crystals and photonic bandgap materials. His other research includes silicon photonics, quantum computing and telecommunications, and surface plasmon optics.

External links

• Eli Yablonovitch's Bio Page at UCLA
• Eli Yablonovitch's Research Group home page at UCLA

American physicists

Members and associates of the US National Academy of Sciences