IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 10, NO.
5, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004
Chaotic Lidar
Fan-Yi Lin and Jia-Ming Liu, Senior Member, IEEE
Abstract—A novel chaotic lidar (CLIDAR) system that utilizes
a chaotic laser as the light source is proposed and studied. In
CLIDAR, the detection and ranging are realized by correlating
the signal waveform reflected back from the target with a delayed
reference waveform. Benefiting from the very broad bandwidth of
the chaotic waveform that can be easily generated by a semicon-
ductor laser, a centimeter-range resolution is readily achieved. The
correlation performance of CLIDAR is studied both numerically
and experimentally. The power spectra, phase portraits, time
series, and correlation traces of the chaotic waveforms obtained at
different operating conditions are compared. The relation between
the complexity of the attractor and the correlation property is
examined. The correlation dimension and the largest positive
Lyapunov exponent of each waveform are calculated. To compare
the correlation performance of the waveforms quantitatively, peak
sidelobe levels of the correlation traces with different correlation
lengths and relative noise levels are investigated. Preliminary
experiments show a subcentimeter accuracy in ranging with a
3-cm-range resolution, which currently is limited by the band-
width of the oscilloscope used.
Index Terms—Chaos, correlation, lidar, nonlinear optics, range
finding, semiconductor lasers.
I. INTRODUCTION
R EMOTE sensing using lidar has been pursued since the
1970s. Applications in target detection [1], imaging [2],
and range finding [3], are widely studied. To precisely resolve
the range, either high-peak-power short-pulse lasers or modu-
lated continuous-wave (CW) diode lasers are used as the light
sources.
In the short-pulse technique, the time of flight is measured
directly. The range resolution, which is determined by the
pulsewidth, is typically in the range of meters [4], [5]. Despite
the advantage of the ability in long-range detection benefiting
from the high peak power level of a pulsed lidar, there are
many drawbacks in the short-pulse technique that uses either
solid-state, gas, or dye lasers as the light sources. To name a
few drawbacks, these lidars could be very expensive, bulky,
heavy, energy inefficient, and difficult to maintain and operate,
which are critical especially when considering applications
such as remote and satellite sensing or portable detections.
Moreover, high-speed gating devices are often required to
increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) when operating in a
highly scattered medium [6], [7].
In comparison, modulated CW lidars have the advantages of
compact size, low cost, high efficiency, easy operation, and eye
safety by using diode lasers as the light source. Operating in a
Manuscript received December 30, 2003; revised May 18, 2004. This work
is supported by the U.S. Army Research Office under Contract DAAG55-98-1-
0269.
The authors are with the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of
California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1594 USA (e-mail: fylin@ee.nthu.edu.tw).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JSTQE.2004.835296
1077-260X/04$20.00 © 2004 IEEE
991
high duty cycle or even continuously, the disadvantage of low
power level for a CW lidar can be partially compensated. In this
technique, target detection and localization are accomplished ei-
ther by correlating the signal waveform reflected or backscat-
tered from the target with the time-delayed reference waveform
or by interfering them optically with a Michelson interferom-
eter, where the range resolution is determined by the bandwidth
of the modulated waveform. Pseudorandom (PN) code-modu-
lated CW lidar was first studied in 1983 by Takeuchi et al. [8].
In 1986, a portable PN code-modulated CW lidar using a diode
laser was demonstrated [9]. Later, comparisons of A1, A2, and
M-sequences codes for a PN code-modulated lidar was studied
[10], [11]. However, limited by the code rate and the modulation
speed, the resolution of such a PN code-modulated CW lidar is
in the range of several tens of meters [8], [9], [12]. Moreover,
the range of unambiguous detection is limited due to the finite
length of the PN code. A 5-cm accuracy is reported in a chirped
lidar with a 1- s-long chirped pulse with a 100-MHz bandwidth
centered at 300 MHz. However, the demands on the linearity of
the chirp and the pulse to pulse repetition rate are very high, and
the unambiguous detection range is also limited because of the
repeated waveform [13]. Moreover, expensive external modu-
lator becomes necessary for high-speed modulation in order to
achieve better resolution.
The chaotic lidar (CLIDAR) proposed and demonstrated in
this paper is a lidar system utilizing the nonlinear dynamics of
semiconductor lasers. By perturbing a semiconductor laser with
either optical injection [14]–[16], optical feedback [17], [18], or
optoelectronic feedback [19]–[21], the laser can be operated in
various dynamical states. Different chaotic oscillation states can
be found at proper operating conditions by adjusting the oper-
ational parameters of a laser system. Using the chaotic output
as the light source, detection can be realized by correlating the
signal waveform reflected or backscattered from the target with
a delayed reference waveform. Compared with both short-pulse
and modulated CW lidars, CLIDAR has a much higher range
resolution benefiting from the broad bandwidth of the optical
chaos [19], [22], which can be easily generated and amplified.
With a bandwidth broader than 15 GHz, a centimeter resolution
is readily achieved. Moreover, while CLIDAR has all the ad-
vantages that a modulated CW lidar has by also using a diode
laser as the light source, the needs of expensive high-speed code
generation and modulation electronics no longer exist. The am-
biguity caused by the limited length of PN codes or a repeated
waveform are also eliminated because a chaotic waveform never
repeats itself. Ranging using a chaotic laser pulse train gener-
ated from a semiconductor laser subject to optical feedback was
studied by Myneni et al. [3]. This work focused specifically on
using a chaotic pulse train for optical ranging. No detailed anal-
ysis on the characteristics and performance of the system was
992 IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 10, NO. 5, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004
Fig. 1. Schematic setup of the CLIDAR system with an optically injected
semiconductor laser. I: isolator. L1, L2: lens. D1, D2: detectors. A: amplifiers.
=2: half-wave plate.
reported. It was also not the purpose of that work to address the
general features of CLIDAR.
To the best of our knowledge, the work reported in this paper
is the first detailed study of lidar using optical chaos. The most
important characteristics, including the SNR and the peak side-
lobe level (PSL), of a lidar system are investigated both nu-
merically and experimentally using various chaotic waveforms.
Not all chaotic states are equal because each chaotic state has
its unique temporal and spectral characteristics. The criteria for
properly choosing a chaotic state for optimal performance of
the CLIDAR are also studied. To show the feasibility of the
CLIDAR system, preliminary experiments in range finding are
demonstrated. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the
concept and the key features of CLIDAR. Field demonstration
and system construction are beyond the scope of this paper.
II. SIMULATION RESULTS
The schematic setup of the proposed CLIDAR system is
shown in Fig. 1. Here an optical injection scheme is used to
generate chaotic waveforms. The dynamics of the optically
injected slave laser is controlled by adjusting the controllable
operational parameters, which are the injection current of the
slave laser, the frequency detuning between the master and
slave lasers, and the optical injection strength from the master
to the slave laser. With proper adjustments, the slave laser
can be operated in various chaotic states. The chaotic optical
waveforms are noise-like, and the spectra are broadband. An
optical isolator is placed right after the chaotic laser to prevent
unwanted optical feedback. The chaotic output is split by a
polarizing beamsplitter into two beams, one serving as the
probe beam and the other as the reference. By rotating the angle
of the half-wave plate relative to the polarizing beamsplitter,
the power ratio between these two beams can be adjusted. The
probe beam is directed to the target, and the signal light that
is backscattered or reflected from the target is collected and
detected by a combination of lens and detector. Together with
the waveform received from the reference beam, these two
waveforms are amplified and simultaneously recorded with
an RF spectrum analyzer and a real-time oscilloscope. Target
detection and localization are accomplished by correlating the
signal waveform with the time-delayed reference waveform.
Fig. 2. Chaotic states obtained numerically with injection strength  = 0:041,
0:038, and 0:033, respectively. (a)–(c) Power spectra. (d)–(f) Phase portraits.
(g)–(i) Time series. (j)–(l) Autocorrelation traces.
This procedure of correlating the signal and the reference can
be carried out either electronically or optically. This flexibility
is a significant advantage of CLIDAR in practical applications.
Signal processing and data analysis are performed in a personal
computer.
CLIDAR uses optical chaos as the light source. Its perfor-
mance is mainly determined by the chaotic state chosen. To have
a -function-like correlation trace that has a highest possible
resolution and lowest possible detection ambiguity, CLIDAR
should be operated in a state that its chaotic waveform has sim-
ilar properties to those of white noise, such as a flat, smooth, and
broad spectrum, a complex phase portrait, and a noise-like time
series. To demonstrate this concept, the characteristics and cor-
relation properties of the chaotic states of an optically injected
semiconductor laser in different operating conditions are first
studied.
Fig. 2 shows the power spectra, phase portraits, time series,
and autocorrelation traces of chaotic states obtained numerically
at different operating conditions using the model described in
[14], [15] and [19]. The intrinsic laser parameters used here are
s , s ,
s , s , and , where , , , ,
and are the cavity photon decay rate, the spontaneous carrier
decay rate, the differential carrier relaxation rate, the nonlinear
carrier relaxation rate, and the linewidth enhancement factor,
respectively. The normalized bias level is fixed at 2/3, while the
LIN AND LIU: CHAOTIC LIDAR
Fig. 3. Chaotic states shown in Fig. 2(a)–(c) with dotted, dashed, and solid
curves, respectively. (a) Correlation dimension. (b) Largest positive Lyapunov
exponent.
injection strength varies from 0.033 to 0.041 with a detuning
frequency of GHz. (See [23] for the detailed definitions
of the intrinsic laser parameters and how they can be measured.)
With the given parameters, the relaxation oscillation frequency
of the laser, which can be calculated using the relation
, is 3.5 GHz.
Fig. 2(a)–(l) shows the power spectra, phase portraits, time
series, and autocorrelation traces of the chaotic states for
, , and , respectively. These states are chosen,
respectively, to represent the chaotic states usually found at the
edge, closer to the center, and at the center of the chaos region
in the mapping [14], [15], [19], [24] of the dynamical states in
the parameter space. As can be seen in Fig. 2(a)–(c), the spectra
of the chaotic states gradually become flatter and smoother as
the operating condition approaches the center of chaos region.
Note that the sharp peaks seen in Fig. 2(a) disappear in Fig. 2(c).
Meanwhile, the phase portraits in Fig. 2(d)–(f) show that the
chaotic attractors become more complex as is varied from
0.041 to 0.033. Although the time series in Fig. 2(g)–(i) all show
similar noise-like oscillations, their corresponding autocorrela-
tion traces shown in Fig. 2(j)–(l) clearly reveal the differences.
Having a flatter and smoother spectrum together with a more
complex chaotic attractor, the state at the center of the chaos re-
gion for clearly has the lowest sidelobes in the auto-
correlation trace among the traces of the three states. To further
connect the complexity of the chaotic state to the correlation per-
formance of CLIDAR, the correlation dimension and the largest
positive Lyapunov exponent are examined.
The correlation dimension and the largest positive Lyapunov
exponent are two of the parameters that quantitatively de-
scribe the complexity of a chaotic state. Using the method estab-
lished in [25] and [26], these parameters for the chaotic states
discussed above are calculated. Fig. 3(a) and (b) show, respec-
tively, the correlation dimension and as a function of for the
chaotic states shown in Fig. 2(a)–(c) with dotted, dashed, and
solid curves, where is the small distance between neighboring
shells which captures the notion of scale. (See [25] and [26] for
detailed explanations.) As can be seen from these data, a state
that has a better correlation performance also has a relatively
higher correlation dimension and a relatively larger value of .
In other words, to achieve a better correlation performance, a
CLIDAR system should be operated in a chaotic state that has
the highest possible correlation dimension and a correspond-
ingly large value of . Such a favorable chaotic state is usually
993
Fig. 4. PSLs of the autocorrelation traces of the chaotic states shown in
Fig. 2(a)–(c) plotted as a function of: (a) correlation length and (b) relative
noise level with the triangles, squares, and circles, respectively. The dotted,
dashed, and solid curves are the respective regressions.
found not at the edge of the chaos region, but somewhere near
the center.
To quantify the differences of these states in the correlation
performances, the PSLs with different correlation lengths and
relative noise levels are calculated. PSL is defined as the ratio
of the maximum sidelobe to the peak; it is associated with the
probability of a false signal in a particular range bin due to
the presence of a target in a neighboring range bin. The PSLs
of the autocorrelation traces of the chaotic states shown in
Fig. 2(a)–(c) are plotted as a function of the correlation length
in Fig. 4(a) with the triangles, squares, and circles, respectively,
where the dotted, dashed, and solid curves are the regressions.
While the PSL of the autocorrelation trace of the chaotic state
shown in Fig. 2(a) remains nearly unchanged at a level above
5 dB, the PSL of the autocorrelation trace of the chaotic state
shown in Fig. 2(c) is reduced to about 15 dB as the correla-
tion length is increased to 25 ns. Therefore, compared with the
benchmark set by a linear frequency modulation system that
has a PSL of 13.6 dB [27], CLIDAR already shows a better
correlation performance by correlating for a mere 25 ns when
the laser is operated in the state shown in Fig. 2(c). While a
near ideal “thumbtack” ambiguity function is found for the
CLIDAR system showing its excellent ability in unambiguous
detection in both the range and the Doppler spaces, it is beyond
the scope of this paper and will be reported separately.
To simulate the correlation performance of CLIDAR under
the environment with additive white Gaussian noise, the
PSLs of autocorrelation traces of the chaotic states shown in
Fig. 2(a)–(c) correlating for 25 ns are plotted as a function of
relative noise level in Fig. 4(b) with the triangles, squares, and
circles, respectively, where the dotted, dashed, and solid curves
are the regressions. The relative noise levels are the power
ratios between the additive white Gaussian noise and the signal
waveforms. As can be seen, the correlation performance is dete-
riorated linearly as the relative noise level increases. However,
even with a relative noise level of as high as 15 dB, the PSL
of the chaotic state shown in Fig. 2(c) is still below the 3-dB
critical operation criterion with a correlation length of barely
25 ns. By correlating longer, the uncorrelated background noise
can be further reduced.
Therefore, by carefully choosing a laser with desirable in-
trinsic parameters and by properly adjusting its operational pa-
rameters for the laser to be operated in a chaotic state that has
994 IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 10, NO. 5, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004

an even flatter and smoother spectrum, a much better correla-

tion performance for CLIDAR can be expected. Chaotic states
of such desirable characteristics are found in the central area of
the chaos region.

III. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

Experiments using an optically injected semiconductor laser
are carried out to verify the simulation results and to demonstrate
the feasibility of CLIDAR. The lasers used are single-mode
distributed feedback InGaAsP/InP semiconductor lasers. The
master and the slave lasers are biased at 59.89 and 50.00 mA and
are stabilized at 13.0 C and 23.0 C, respectively. The frequency
detuning between the master and the slave lasers is around 2.7
GHz, and the free-running resonance frequency of the slave
laser is 3 GHz. The dynamics of the slave laser is controlled by
adjusting the optical injection strength from the master laser to
the slave laser and the frequency detuning between them. The
signal and reference waveforms are detected by high-speed In-
GaAs photodetectors with a 6-GHz bandwidth. These electronic
signals are amplified by HP 83006A RF amplifiers with a 20-dB
gain and a 3-dB bandwidth ranging from 10 MHz to 20.5 GHz.
Waveforms are displayed and recorded on a Tektronix TDS694C
digitizing real-time oscilloscope with a 10-GS/s sampling rate
and a 3-GHz bandwidth, while the corresponding power spectra
are simultaneously measured with an HP E4407B spectrum
analyzer with a 26.5-GHz bandwidth. The correlation and data
processing are carried out with a personal computer.
By slightly adjusting the injection strength within the chaos Fig. 5. Three chaotic states obtained experimentally with decreasing injection
region around a detuning frequency of 2.7 GHz, the chaotic strengths. (a)–(c) Power spectra. (d)–(f) Phase portraits. (g)–(i) Time series.
(j)–(l) Autocorrelation traces.
states with different characteristics are obtained and compared.
Fig. 5(a)–(l) show the power spectra, phase portraits, time se-
ries, and autocorrelation traces of these chaotic states with de-
creasing injection strengths. As can be seen in Fig. 5(a)–(c),
the power spectra become flatter and smoother as the injec-
tion strength decreases and the chaotic state moves closer to
the center of the chaos region. Although not perfectly flat, the
power is distributed relatively more evenly in the range of in-
terest in Fig. 5(c) than in the other two states. The rapid drops at
around 6 GHz are caused by the limited bandwidth of the detec-
tors used, whereas the bandwidth of the chaos itself is measured
to be more than 15 GHz by using a Discovery high-speed pho-
todetector that has a 38-GHz 3-dB bandwidth. Little structural
difference in the phase portraits can be told from Fig. 5(d)–(f)
because of noise, but their scattered structures clearly indicate
the chaotic nature of these states. The time series presented in
Fig. 5(g)–(i) show noise-like characteristics of the chaotic wave-
Fig. 6. PSLs of the autocorrelation traces of the chaotic states shown in
forms. These waveforms are shifted and rescaled to show their Fig. 5(a)–(c) plotted as a function of correlation length with the triangles,
chaotic features, where the 0-level corresponds to the average squares, and circles, respectively. The dotted, dashed, and solid curves are the
power. Fig. 5(j)–(l) are their autocorrelation traces with a cor- respective regressions.
relation length of 2 s. While the spectra of the chaotic states
shown in Fig. 5(a)–(c) become flatter and smoother as the in- The PSLs of the autocorrelation traces of the chaotic states
jection strength decreases, the sidelobes of the corresponding shown in Fig. 5(a)–(c) are plotted as a function of the corre-
autocorrelation traces shown in Fig. 5(j)–(l) are significantly lation length in Fig. 6 with the triangles, squares, and circles,
lowered. The sidelobes almost disappear completely in the au- respectively, where the dotted, dashed, and solid curves are the
tocorrelation trace shown in Fig. 5(l). To show the differences regressions. Clearly, the chaotic state shown in Fig. 5(c) has the
quantitatively, the PSLs of the autocorrelation traces are plotted best correlation performance that, by correlating for less than
in Fig. 6 as a function of the correlation length. 2 s, the PSL is suppressed well below 30 dB. Due to the
LIN AND LIU: CHAOTIC LIDAR 995

contamination of noise, the relation between the PSL and the

correlation dimension and that between the PSL and the largest
Lyapunov exponent are not as clear as they are in the numerical
case, where noise is not taken into account. Nevertheless, both
numerical and experimental results suggest that to have a better
correlation performance, a CLIDAR system has to be operated
in a chaotic state that has a flat and smooth spectrum, usually
found in the central area of a chaos region.
Besides the unambiguous correlation profile as that shown in
Fig. 5(l), very high range resolution is another important fea-
ture of CLIDAR. From the 0.2-ns full-width at half-maximum
(FWHM) of the correlation peak shown in Fig. 5(l), the range
resolution is derived to be 3 cm, which is currently limited by the
detection bandwidth of the real-time oscilloscope used. Com-
pared with the conventional lidars that typically has a resolution
in the range of meters, CLIDAR clearly outperforms them with
its centimeter resolution while the needs and possible difficulties
in high-speed detection and modulation are eliminated. With its
Fig. 7. Cross-correlation traces of a target moving 50.0 cm in the line of sight.
high-range resolution and the unambiguous -function-like cor-
relation profile, a CLIDAR system is shown to be a potential tool
in the applications such as precision range finding, target iden-
tification, and remote imaging.
To show the feasibility of the CLIDAR system, preliminary
experiments of range finding using a mirror as the target are con-
ducted. The CLIDAR system is operated in the chaotic state as
the one shown in Fig. 5(c). Limited by the lab environment, the
mirror is arranged at about 2 m away from the CLIDAR system
on a translation stage. While field demonstration can be carried
out by using high-power diode lasers, telescope receivers, and
optical fiber amplifiers [28], [29] to increase the signal level, it
is beyond the scope of this paper. Thus, our focus here is on the
demonstration of the concept of CLIDAR using laser chaos and
the studies of its correlation properties and performances.
A set of signal and reference waveforms are first obtained,
and the crosscorrelation trace of them is plotted in Fig. 7 with
the dark curve. By translating the mirror 50.0 cm away in the
line of sight, a second set of signal and reference waveforms are
obtained, and their cross-correlation trace is plotted in Fig. 7
with the gray curve. In both cases, the correlation lengths are Fig. 8. Coherence envelopes of a target moving 10.0 mm in the line of sight.
2 s. From the separation between the correlation peaks shown
in Fig. 7, the relative range difference is measured to be 49.5 cm be adopted. The relative target distance can be determined by
showing a subcentimeter accuracy in ranging. Moreover, with measuring the coherence envelope (fringe contrast function)
a 0.2-ns FWHM of the cross-correlation peak, a 3-cm range that modulates the interference fringes. Preliminary experi-
resolution is achieved and demonstrated experimentally, which ments using a mirror as the target located at about 1 m away
is currently limited by the bandwidth of the oscilloscope used. from the CLIDAR system are carried out. By translating the
With a PSL calculated to be 27 dB, the CLIDAR system mirror for 10.0 mm in the line of sight, two coherence envelopes
clearly shows an excellent performance in correlation such are obtained and plotted in Fig. 8 with the dark and gray curves,
that target detection can be done unambiguously with a very respectively. As can be seen, a distance of 10.0 mm is measured
high resolution. To examine the SNR of the CLIDAR system, from the separation of the peaks that has a submillimeter
five consecutive sets of data are recorded, and the average and accuracy, while a 5.5-mm range resolution is achieved deriving
the variance of the values of the cross-correlation peaks rep- from the FWHM of the peaks.
resenting the signal and the noise, respectively, are calculated.
With the current setup without optimization, an SNR of 27.5 dB
IV. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
is obtained.
To fully utilize the broad bandwidths of chaotic waveforms CLIDAR utilizes the nonlinear dynamics of the semicon-
and to eliminate the bandwidth limitation from the electronics, ductor lasers. While they can be generated and amplified
a CLIDAR system utilizing a Michelson interferometer that rather easily, chaotic optical waveforms generated by semi-
interferes the signal light with the reference light optically can conductor lasers have very broad bandwidths and never repeat
996 IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 10, NO. 5, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004
themselves. Compared to conventional lidars, unambiguous de-
tection together with very high range resolution can be readily
achieved without the needs and difficulties in range-gating
and high-speed code generation and modulation. With the
advantages of compact, low cost, light weight, and high energy
efficiency, CLIDAR has great potential in applications such as
remote and satellite sensing and portable detection. Using the
similar concept and setup, a Chaotic Radar (CRADAR) system
[30], [31] that probes and detects in the microwave domain can
also be realized.
In this paper, the performance and characteristics of a pro-
posed CLIDAR system are investigated and studied both numer-
ically and experimentally. To have good correlation properties
and high performance, the laser has to be operated in a chaotic
state that has a flat and smooth spectrum characterized by a
complex attractor, together with the highest possible correla-
tion dimension and a large Lyapunov exponent. Such a desirable
chaotic state can be found in the central area of a chaos re-
gion and can be easily reached by properly adjusting the opera-
tional parameters of the laser. Preliminary experiments of range
finding using a mirror as the target are carried out to demon-
strate the feasibility of the CLIDAR system. A range resolution
of 3 cm is achieved experimentally, which is currently limited
not by the spectral bandwidth of the chaotic waveform but by
the detection bandwidth of the real-time oscilloscope used. To-
gether with its high resolution, the CLIDAR system shows a
subcentimeter accuracy and a PSL of 27 dB by correlating for
a mere 2 s. Without optimization, a SNR of 27.5 dB is obtained
with the current setup.
The purposes of the experimental demonstrations in this
paper are to show the feasibility of the concept of CLIDAR.
Long-range practical detection can be achieved by scaling up
the CLIDAR system with high-power diode lasers, telescope
receivers, and optical fiber amplifiers. With an output power of
1 W, a detector detectivity of 10 cm-Hz W, an integration
time of 0.1 ms, and a receiver diameter of 20 cm, a detection
range of about 7 km is estimated with a unity SNR for the
CLIDAR system [32].
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LIN AND LIU: CHAOTIC LIDAR
Fan-Yi Lin was born in Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C., in
1975. He received the B.S. degree in electrophysics
from National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, in
1997, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical
Engineering from the University of California, Los
Angeles, in 2001 and 2004, respectively.
He is currently an Assistant Professor with the De-
partment of Electrical Engineering and Institute of
Photonics Technologies, National Tsinghua Univer-
sity, Hsinchu. His current research interests include
nonlinear laser dynamics, optoelectronics, and lidar
and radar systems.
997
Jia-Ming Liu (M’83–SM’85) was born in Taiwan
on July 13, 1953. He received the B.S. degree in
electrophysics from National Chiao Tung University,
Hsinchu, Taiwan, in 1975 and the S.M. and Ph.D.
degrees in applied physics from Harvard University,
Cambridge, MA, in 1979 and 1982, respectively.
He was an Assistant Professor with the Depart-
ment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, State
University of New York, Buffalo, from 1982 to 1983
and was a Senior Member of the Technical Staff
with GTE Laboratories, Inc., from 1983 to 1986. He
is currently a professor with the Electrical Engineering Department, University
of California, Los Angeles. His research interests include development and
application of picosecond and femtosecond wavelength-tunable infrared laser
pulses, nonlinear and dynamic processes in semiconductor materials and lasers,
wave propagation in optical structures, and chaotic synchronization in optical
systems.
Dr. Liu is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, a Senior Member of the
IEEE Laser and Electro-Optics Society, and a Member of the American Phys-
ical Society, the Phi Tau Scholastic Honor Society, and Sigma Xi. He is also a
founding member of the Photonics Society of Chinese-Americans. He became
a Licensed Professional Electrical Engineer in 1977.