Morgan Blevins

Morgan Blevins

PhD Candidate at MIT studying nanophotonics and quantum materials

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A list of all the posts and pages found on the site. For you robots out there is an XML version available for digesting as well.

Pages

Posts

Future Blog Post

less than 1 minute read

Published:

This post will show up by default. To disable scheduling of future posts, edit config.yml and set future: false.

Blog Post number 4

less than 1 minute read

Published:

This is a sample blog post. Lorem ipsum I can’t remember the rest of lorem ipsum and don’t have an internet connection right now. Testing testing testing this blog post. Blog posts are cool.

Blog Post number 3

less than 1 minute read

Published:

This is a sample blog post. Lorem ipsum I can’t remember the rest of lorem ipsum and don’t have an internet connection right now. Testing testing testing this blog post. Blog posts are cool.

Blog Post number 2

less than 1 minute read

Published:

This is a sample blog post. Lorem ipsum I can’t remember the rest of lorem ipsum and don’t have an internet connection right now. Testing testing testing this blog post. Blog posts are cool.

Blog Post number 1

less than 1 minute read

Published:

This is a sample blog post. Lorem ipsum I can’t remember the rest of lorem ipsum and don’t have an internet connection right now. Testing testing testing this blog post. Blog posts are cool.

portfolio

publications

Planar nanophotonic structures for intensity based readout refractive index sensing applied to dissolved methane detection

Published in OSA Continuum, 2020

This paper analyzes and compares three simple and low-cost planar nanophotonic and plasmonic structures as optical transducers for measuring the refractive index change of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer films doped with cryptophane-A molecules, which selectively trap methane.

Recommended citation: **Blevins, M.G.**, Michel, A.P.M., and Boriskina, S.V. "Planar nanophotonic structures for intensity based readout refractive index sensing applied to dissolved methane detection," OSA Continuum 3, 3556-3573 (2020) https://opg.optica.org/osac/fulltext.cfm?uri=osac-3-12-3556&id=444776

Graduate Student Perspectives on Equitable Remote Learning

Published in Eos Science News by AGU, 2021

Remote learning can be a catalyst for instructors and institutions to invest in teaching practices that reinforce growth mindsets and that help students share responsibility for learning outcomes.

Recommended citation: Bhatt, E., **Blevins, M. G.**, Freeman, D. H., and Taenzer, L. (2021), Graduate student perspectives on equitable remote learning, Eos, 102, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EO153582. Published on 21 January 2021. https://eos.org/opinions/graduate-student-perspectives-on-equitable-remote-learning

High contrast cleavage detection

Published in Optics Letters, 2021

In this Letter, we evaluate the performance of an integrated microring photonic biosensor using the high contrast cleavage detection (HCCD) mechanism, which we recently introduced. The HCCD sensors make use of dramatic optical signal amplification caused by the cleavage of large numbers of high-contrast nanoparticle reporters instead of the adsorption of labeled or unlabeled low-index biological molecules.

Recommended citation: Dubrovsky, M., **Blevins, M.G.**, Boriskina, S.V., and Vermeulen, D.. "High contrast cleavage detection," Opt. Lett. 46, 2593-2596 (2021) https://opg.optica.org/ol/abstract.cfm?uri=ol-46-11-2593

Field-Portable Microplastic Sensing in Aqueous Environments: A Perspective on Emerging Techniques

Published in MDPI Sensors, 2021

In this perspective, we consider MP measurement technologies with a focus on both their eventual field-deployability and their respective data products (e.g., MP particle count, size, and/or polymer type). We present preliminary demonstrations of several prospective MP measurement techniques, with an eye towards developing a solution or solutions that can transition from the laboratory to the field. Specifically, experimental results are presented from multiple prototype systems that measure various physical properties of MPs: pyrolysis-differential mobility spectroscopy, short-wave infrared imaging, aqueous Nile Red labeling and counting, acoustophoresis, ultrasound, impedance spectroscopy, and dielectrophoresis.

Recommended citation: **Blevins, M.G.**; Allen, H.L.; Colson, B.C.; Cook, A.-M.; Greenbaum, A.Z.; Hemami, S.S.; Hollmann, J.; Kim, E.; LaRocca, A.A.; Markoski, K.A.; Miraglia, P.; Mott, V.L.; Robberson, W.M.; Santos, J.A.; Sprachman, M.M.; Swierk, P.; Tate, S.; Witinski, M.F.; Kratchman, L.B.; Michel, A.P.M. Field-Portable Microplastic Sensing in Aqueous Environments: A Perspective on Emerging Techniques. Sensors 2021, 21, 3532. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21103532 https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/10/3532

Roadmap on Universal Photonic Biosensors for Real-Time Detection of Emerging Pathogens

Published in MDPI Photonics, 2021

In this Letter, we evaluate the performance of an integrated microring photonic biosensor using the high contrast cleavage detection (HCCD) mechanism, which we recently introduced. The HCCD sensors make use of dramatic optical signal amplification caused by the cleavage of large numbers of high-contrast nanoparticle reporters instead of the adsorption of labeled or unlabeled low-index biological molecules.

Recommended citation: **Blevins, M.G.**; Fernandez-Galiana, A.; Hooper, M.J.; Boriskina, S.V. Roadmap on Universal Photonic Biosensors for Real-Time Detection of Emerging Pathogens. Photonics 2021, 8, 342. https://doi.org/10.3390/ photonics8080342 https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/8/8/342

talks

Planar Nanophotonic Structures for Intensity-Based Readout Refractive Index Sensing of Dissolved Methane

Published:

As global temperatures rise, permafrost in the Arctic is thawing, stimulating increased release of methane, a key greenhouse gas. Accurate measurements of the dissolved methane concentration in seawater and freshwater are important for finding and quantifying the release of natural seabed and Arctic methane seeps to better understand how these sources are contributing to increasing global methane levels. In surface waters, the methane concentration can be as low as 3-10 nM (atmospheric equilibrium) while concentrations as high as 800-1000 nM are found in methane saturated deep seawater and near thawing permafrost. To measure the concentration of dissolved methane, changes in the refractive index (RI) of polymers functionalized to selectively trap methane molecules can be measured via an optical readout mechanism. However, the range of the RI change is very narrow, from 1.41198 to 1.41358 for atmospheric to saturated methane concentration levels ranging from 0 nM to 300 nM, which requires the use of highly sensitive optical sensors. This paper analyzes and compares three simple and low-cost planar nanophotonic and plasmonic structures as optical transducers for measuring refractive index change of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer films doped with cryptophane-A molecules, which selectively trap methane. These structures include (i) a Bragg reflector with a defect layer, (ii) a hybrid plasmonic-photonic multi-layer stack that supports a Tamm plasmon mode, and (iii) a hybrid plasmonic-photonic stack that acts as a magnetic mirror, and can be used in a simple intensity-based measurement scheme with low cost light sources and detectors. Through numerical simulations, we evaluate the sensitivity of the proposed structures in both the angular-resonant-mode shift readout mode and in the reflectance intensity readout mode and compare them to the standard surface-plasmon-polariton-mode Spreeta sensor as a reference. Our results show that the planar Bragg reflector with a defect layer exhibits the largest intensity response and is the most promising design for a low cost and robust photonic chip for dissolved methane sensing. A practical implementation of this chip with a simple intensity-based measurement scheme is proposed. Integration of this planar structure into a small, portable, and low-cost dissolved methane sensor offers a way to make climate monitoring more widespread and accessible to researchers. The structures evaluated here all show promise for other chemical and biological sensing applications that require monitoring very small RI changes. Significantly, each structure has been designed to support resonant modes in both s and p polarizations, which allows enhanced sensitivity by calculating the ratio of the spectral responses of orthogonal polarizations, similar to the complex reflectance ratio measured with ellipsometry. Importantly, the response in both polarizations only needs to be monitored in the reflectance intensity readout mode, avoiding the use of expensive and large ellipsometry equipment.

teaching

2.S987 Photonic Metamaterials: Course development

Graduate course, MIT, Mechanical Engineering, 2023

Course development as well as TA duties for MIT Mechanical Engineering graduate level nanophotonics and metamaterials class with Professor Svetlana Boriskina