Material Characterization and Evolution through Laser Mater Interaction

Nirmala Kandadai, PhD

Assistant Professor | Electrical and Computer Engineering | Oregon State University

Lasers have advanced a lot over the last 50 years since their first inception. They have a wide variety of applications based on their focused intensity from optical communication to generating high-energy particles. At Oregon State University, our Fiber optics and Integrated photonics laboratory uses laser-based techniques to understand the photo physics of materials that are distinctly different from their mechanical or electrical property. We utilize the photo physics of material to both characterize and manipulate the materials. In this talk, I will focus on our work on laser-material interaction using laser systems with focused intensities ranging from 10⁵ W/cm² -10¹⁵W/cm². We will show how each range of intensity has a distinct application, from laser sintering, and thermal conductivity measurement to the generation of 2D materials and nanoparticles.

Dr. Nirmala Kandadai is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Oregon State State University. She completed her Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin in 2012 studying the interaction of high-intensity laser with molecular gas clusters After her Ph.D., she worked for a year as a postdoctoral fellow at The University of Texas at Austin working on improving the contrast of a Petawatt laser system and then 3 years as a Laser Scientist at National energetics. At National Energetics, she led her team in designing and building high power ultrafast laser systems, including the front end of a 10 PW laser system for the European Union’s Extreme Light Infrastructure Beamlines facility (ELI-Beamlines). She was in Boise as a Research Assistant Professor in 2016 and became a tenure track Assistant professor in 2019. She moved to Oregon State in 2022 as an Assistant Professor. At Oregon State she is the director of fiber optics laser and integrated research lab (FLAIR), her current research work includes laser mater interactions, sensors for extreme environments, infrared thermography, thermal conductivity, laser sintering, and plasma modeling.  She is currently an IEEE senior member.