Anwar Sadath

About Anwar Sadath

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Electrical Engineering at North Carolina State University, specializing in silicon- and lithium niobate–based photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for high-speed optical and computing applications. I am currently a Visiting Researcher at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) at Sandia National Laboratories, where I design, fabricate, and experimentally validate advanced photonic devices and circuits.My research spans the full photonic integrated circuit development cycle, from device- and circuit-level design and numerical simulation to layout, fabrication, and experimental characterization. I design and analyze photonic components including waveguides, microring and Mach–Zehnder modulators, lasers, photodetectors, and grating and edge couplers. My modeling workflow uses Ansys Lumerical, COMSOL Multiphysics, Tidy3D, and Zemax, and incorporates process- and alignment-induced variability through statistical and Monte Carlo analysis to improve robustness and yield.I am experienced with photonic chip layout and the electronic design automation ecosystem, including Cadence, KLayout, gdsfactory, IPKISS, and foundry-specific process design kits, enabling fabrication-ready designs compatible with research and multi-project wafer processes.At Sandia, I am actively involved in cleanroom fabrication, including electron-beam and optical lithography, thin-film deposition, and etching. I use metrology tools such as SEM and AFM to assess fabrication quality and work closely with process engineers to improve device repeatability and performance.I also perform extensive optical and electrical characterization, including fiber-to-chip alignment, coupling and insertion loss measurements, Q-factor and bandwidth extraction, and electro-optic response evaluation. I have hands-on experience with AWGs, VNAs, oscilloscopes, OSAs, SMUs, and optical power meters. To support efficient experimentation, I develop Python- and MATLAB-based automation workflows for instrument control, data analysis, and simulation-to-measurement correlation.My research includes GST-based photonic neural networks, lithium niobate PICs for high-speed modulation, integrated lasers and photodetectors, and porous-core fibers for low-loss interconnects and sensing. I have authored 18 peer-reviewed publications and presented at SPIE Photonics West, CLEO, and conferences. I am a U.S. Permanent Resident and do not require employment sponsorship.

Experience

1. Visiting Researcher

   Sandia National Laboratories

   Jul 2024 — Present · Albuquerque, NM, US

   At Sandia CINT, I work on the development, fabrication, and characterization of silicon-photonic devices and photonic integrated circuits (PICs), accelerating next-generation optical interconnect and nanophotonic platform development.• Fabricate and characterize silicon-photonic devices and PIC components at wafer scale, including waveguides, couplers, resonators, and photonic neural network structures.• Develop Python-automated experimental setups for wavelength/bias sweeps, high-speed electro-optic measurements, alignment routines, and data-driven performance extraction.• Perform lithography and etch process optimization (photo/e-beam lithography, RIE/ICP etching, thin-film deposition) for sub-micron photonic structures and evaluate device yield and repeatability.• Analyze optical/electrical device behavior using Lumerical (FDTD/MODE), COMSOL, MATLAB, and Python to correlate fabrication parameters with loss, coupling efficiency, modulation dynamics, and process variations.• Measure device performance using lasers, detectors, power meters, fiber-alignment stages, SMUs, oscilloscopes, and automated optical/electrical test infrastructure.• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams (materials science, device physics, optical testing, and fabrication groups) to support rapid design iteration and technology transition.• Prepare technical reports and present findings to internal/partner research teams, providing data-driven recommendations for design and process improvements.

Education

• Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

  Master of Science - MS, Electrical and Electronics Engineering

• North Carolina State University

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Electrical and Electronics Engineering

• Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology

  Bachelor's degree, Electrical and Electronics Engineering