Research

Dr. Baird's areas of focus are electromagnetic scattering and quantum structures. He is involved in building and using computational codes to predict the performance of Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCL's) and to aid in the design of next-generation QCL's. In the past, he has been involved in predicting and understanding the radar scattering signatures of complex military targets using Computation Electromagnetics Codes (CEM) as well as developing wind turbine defect detection using terahertz imaging.

Quantum Cascade Laser Overview

QCL's consist of a sequence of fine-tuned quantum wells that create quantized electron states within the conduction band. Electrons cascade through this quantum structure, emitting laser radiation in each period. Read the Quantum Cascade Laser Overview

Quantum Cascade Laser Theory

The physical theory of QCL's is derived from first principles and is applied directly in compuational code designed to generate accurate predictions of physical QCL behavior. Quantum eigenstates are found using the one-electron Schroedinger equation. The Poisson equation is then solved to add in the effects of electron-electron interactions. Quantum transition equations are then solved to find the transition rates between states. Feeding the transition rates into equilibrium rate equations leads to the calculation of the electron and photon densities. Waveguide effects are included to reach more accurate densities. The populations derived using the rate equations are inserted back into the Poisson equation and the scattering calcuations and all calculations are repeated iteratively until the solution converges. Read the Quantum Cascade Laser Theory

Radar Scattering Prediction

In the past, Dr. Baird worked at STL generating and investigating high-accuracy radar signatures of military targets. This is accomplished through the use of scale-model replicas built out of scaled materials and imaged in compact radar ranges. This is also accomplished by using Computational Electromagnetic (CEM) codes to predict the radar scattering signatures. This team also explored the development of next-generation automatic target recognition (ATR) systems using Euler transformations, based on the radar signatures acquired in-house. Read more about Radar Scattering Prediction at STL