Physics Department Personnel

Dr. Willie J. Padilla

Assistant Professor of Physics

617-552-0667
Higgins Hall 330J
willie.padilla.1@bc.edu
Prof. Padilla's Lab Website

Education

• Ph.D., Physics, University of California, San Diego, 2004
• M.S., Physics, University of California, San Diego, 2002
• B.S., Physics, San Diego State University, 1996

Areas of Research
Experimental studies of semiconductors, oxides, strongly correlated electron systems including high Tc superconductors and metamaterials. Experimental methods include far infrared spectroscopy and THz time domain spectroscopy. Investigation of the symmetry of metamaterials and their relation to complex electromagnetic behavior by point group theoretical methods. Computational studies of metamaterial structures at THz and optical frequencies using the finite element method.

Selected Publications

• N. I. Landy, and W. J. Padilla, "Guiding Light with Conformal Transformations," Opt. Express 17(17) 14872 (2009).
• H.-T. Chen, W. J. Padilla, M. J. Cich, A. K. Azad, R. D. Averitt, and A. J. Taylor, "A Metamaterial Solid-State Terahertz Phase Modulator," Nat. Photonics 3, 148 (2009).
• N. I. Landy, C. M. Bingham, T. Tyler, N. Jokerst, D. R. Smith, and W. J. Padilla, "Design, Theory, and Measurement of a Polarization-Insensitive Absorber for Terahertz Imaging," Phys. Rev. B 79, 125104 (2009).
• H. Tao, C. M. Bingham, A. C. Strikwerda, D. Pilon, D. Shrekenhamer, N. I. Landy, K. Fan, X. Zhang, W. J. Padilla, and R. D. Averitt, "Highly-Flexible Wide Angle of Incidence Terahertz Metamaterial Absorber," Phys. Rev. B (Rapid Communications) 78, 241103R (2008).
• H. Tao, A. C. Strikwerda, K. Fan, C. M. Bingham, W. J. Padilla, X. Zhang, and R. D. Averitt, "Terahertz Metamaterials on Free-Standing Highly-Flexible Polyimide Substrates," J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41, 232004 (2008).
• C. M. Bingham, H. Tao, X. Liu, R. D. Averitt, X. Zhang, and W. J. Padilla, "Planar Wallpaper Group Metamaterials for Novel Terahertz Applications," Opt. Express 16, 18565 (2008).
• Y. Yuan, C. Bingham, T. Tyler, S. Palit, T. H. Hand, W. J. Padilla, N. M. Jokerst, and S. A. Cummer, "A Dual-Resonant Terahertz Metamaterial Based on Single-Particle Electric-Field-Coupled Resonators," Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 191110 (2008).
• A. D. LaForge, W. J. Padilla, K. S. Burch, Z. Q. Li, A. A. Schafgans, K. Segawa, Y. Ando, and D. N. Basov, "Sum Rules and Interlayer Infrared Response of the High Temperature YBa2Cu3Oy Superconductor in an External Magnetic Field," Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 097008 (2008).
• N. I. Landy, S. Sajuyigbe, J. J. Mock, D. R. Smith, and W. J. Padilla, "Perfect Metamaterial Absorber," Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 207402 (2008).
• H.-T. Chen, J. F. O'Hara, A. K. Azad, A. J. Taylor, R. D. Averitt, D. Shrekenhamer, and W. J. Padilla, "Experimental Demonstration of Frequency Agile Terahertz Metamaterials," Nat. Photonics 2, 295 (2008).
• W. J. Padilla, "A New Class of Metamaterials," Nat. Mater. 6, 922 (2007).
• W. J. Padilla, M. T. Aronsson, C. Highstrete, M. Lee, A. J. Taylor, and R. D. Averitt, "Novel Electrically Resonant Terahertz Metamaterials," http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/cond-mat/0605002.
• W. J. Padilla, A. J. Taylor, C. Highstrete, M. Lee, and R. D. Averitt, "Dynamical Electric and Magnetic Metamaterial Response at Terahertz Frequencies," Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 107401 (2006).
• W.J. Padilla, D. N. Basov, and D.R. Smith, "Negative Refractive Index Metamaterials," Mater. Today 9(7-8), 28 (2006).
• W. J. Padilla, D. R. Smith, and D. Basov, "Spectroscopy of Metamaterials from Infrared to Optical Frequencies," J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 23, 404 (2006).
• W. J. Padilla, Y. S. Lee, M. Dumm, G. Blumberg, S. Ono, K.Segawa, S.Komiya, Y. Ando, and D. N. Basov, "Constant Effective Mass Across the Phase Diagram of High-Tc Cuprates," Phys. Rev. B 72, 060511 (2005).
• W. J. Padilla, M. Dumm, S. Komiya, Y. Ando, and D. N. Basov, "Infrared Signatures of Hole and Spin Stripes in La2−xSrxCuO4," Phys. Rev. B 72, 205101 (2005).
• W. J. Padilla, Z. Q. Li, K. S. Burch, Y. S. Lee, K. J. Mikolaitis, and D. N. Basov, "Broadband Multi-Interferometer Spectroscopy in High Magnetic Fields: From THz to Visible," Rev. Sci. Instrum. 75, 4710-4717 (2004).
• T. J. Yen, W. J. Padilla, N. Fang, D. C. Vier, D. R. Smith, J. B. Pendry, D. N. Basov, and X. Zhang, "Terahertz Magnetic Response from Artificial Materials," Science 303, 1494 (2004).
• W. J. Padilla, D. Mandrus, and D. N. Basov, "Searching for the Slater Transition in the Pyrochlore Cd2Os2O7 with Infrared Spectroscopy," Phys. Rev. B 66, 035120 (2002).
• D. R. Smith, W. J. Padilla, D. C. Vier, S. C. Nemat-Nasser, and S. Schultz, "Composite Medium with Simultaneously Negative Permeability and Permittivity," Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 4184-4187 (2000).