Publications

Organizations that make use of large quantities of information require the ability to store and process data from central locations so that the product can be shared or distributed across a heterogeneous group of users. However, recent events underscore the need for improving the security of data stored in such...

The decreasing costs and increasing speed and accuracy of DNA sample collection, preparation, and sequencing has rapidly produced an enormous volume of genetic data. However, fast and accurate analysis of the samples remains a bottleneck. Here we present D4RAGenS, a genetic sequence identification algorithm that exhibits the Big Data handling...

Computer networks are present throughout all sectors of our critical infrastructure and these networks are under a constant threat of cyber attack. One prevalent computer network threat takes advantage of unauthorized, and thus insecure, hardware on a network. This paper presents a prototype simulation system for network risk assessment that...

Solid-state quantum sensors are attracting wide interest because of their sensitivity at room temperature. In particular, the spin properties of individual nitrogen-vacancy (NV) colour centres in diamond make them outstanding nanoscale sensors of magnetic fields, electric fields and temperature under ambient conditions. Recent work on NV ensemble-based magnetometers, inertial sensors...

We demonstrate a 256 x 256 passive photon counting imager based on hybridization of back-illuminated silicon Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes to an all-digital CMOS counting chip. Photon detection efficiencies in the 10%-20% are observed at visible wavelengths. The detection efficiency is currently limited by optical crosstalk that leads to elevation of...

The detection statistics of Geiger-mode photodetector subarrays with a combination of reset-time blocking loss and optical crosstalk are investigated. Closed-form expressions are obtained for the means and covariances of the numbers of counts in 2 x 2 subarrays (quad cells) used in Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors. The predicted wavefront sensing precision...

Operation of a CCD imager on a curved focal surface offers advantages to flat focal planes, especially for lightweight, relatively simple optical systems. The first advantage is that the modulation transfer function can approach diffraction-limited performance for a spherical focal surface employed in large field-of-view or large-format imagers. The second...

We present measurements of the motional heating rate of a trapped ion at different trap frequencies and temperatures between ~0.6 and 1.5 MHz and ~4 and 295 K. Additionally, we examine the possible effect of adsorbed surface contaminants with boiling points below ~105 degrees C by measuring the ion heating...

Researchers are making secure multiparty computation--a cryptographic technique that enables information sharing and analysis while keeping sensitive inputs secret--faster and easier to use for application software developers.

Metal-dielectric nanolaminates represent a class of hyperbolic metamaterials with uniaxial permittivity tensor. In this study, we critically compare permittivity extraction of nanolaminate samples using two techniques: polarized reflectrometry vs. spectroscopic anisotropic ellipsometry. Both Au/MgF2 and Ag/MgF2 metal-dielectric stacks are examined. We demonstrate the applicability of the treatment of the multilayered...