3D nanophotonic lenses
Broadband optical structures designed across simulation, fabrication, and experimental characterization.
Imaging · beam shaping · on-chip light controlWei Zhu · Experimental nanophotonics
Shaping light
in three dimensions.
I'm Wei Zhu, a Ph.D. candidate turning optical ideas into experimentally feasible nanostructures for imaging, beam shaping, and on-chip light control.
Research spectrum
From simulated fields to fabricated form.
My work connects computational optical design, nanoscale fabrication, and experimental characterization—always designed around what can be built and measured.
Two-photon lithography
Pupil-engineered exposure fields and practical process strategies for precise, deeply three-dimensional fabrication.
Pupil filters · direct laser writing · metrologySilicon quantum dots
Nanolens-enhanced emitters combining ion implantation, photoluminescence, and optical modelling.
Emission enhancement · nanoscale interfacesFDTD · MEEP · LumericalTwo-photon lithographyPhotoluminescenceIon implantationPython · MATLAB · C++Pupil engineering
Experience & education
Research in practice.
2025—NowWestern University
Technician, Western Nanofabrication Facility
Maintaining research equipment and supporting reliable nanofabrication workflows for facility users.
2024—NowWestern University
3D structures for imaging and on-chip light control
Developing broadband lenses, pupil-engineered optical fields, and beam-shaping structures within practical fabrication limits.
Supervisor: Dr. Lyudmila Goncharova · Dr. Eric Johlin2022—2024Western University
Nanolens-enhanced silicon quantum-dot emission
Combined ion implantation, direct laser writing, optical characterization, and simulation to improve photoluminescence.
Supervisor: Dr. Lyudmila Goncharova · Dr. Eric Johlin2021University of Toronto · AP2D Group
Summer Researcher
Compared plasmonic SERS platforms using e-beam deposition, sputtering, Raman spectroscopy, and spectral analysis.
Supervisor: Prof. Nazir KheraniGroupsAP²D Labs
2020Chinese Academy of Sciences
Supervised Study Student
Studied PPMS and Raman spectrophotometry for material-property analysis at the Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics.
Supervisor: Prof. Jiangang GuoPublications & manuscripts
Recent work.
01
Passive Axial Confinement in Two-Photon Lithography with a 3D-Printed Pupil Filter
W. Zhu, L. V. Goncharova & E. Johlin
02
03From Planar to 3D Nanophotonic Lenses
W. Zhu, L. V. Goncharova & E. Johlin
Control of temporal and spatial proximity effects in two-photon lithography
L. Mehrvar, W. Zhu, Z. Wang, D. Modasi & E. Johlin
Multiband MgGeO₃-Based Persistent Luminescent Nanophosphors
Y. Liu, J. Sun, Y. Jiang, G. Fanchini, W. Zhu et al.
Teaching & mentorship
Making careful science feel approachable.
Teaching Assistant across first-year physics, advanced measurement, senior laboratories, and Integrated Science at Western University.
- Departmental Teaching Assistant Award · 2024—2025
- Mentored two undergraduate thesis students
- Poster Judge, Physics Undergraduate Conference · 2025 & 2026
Awards & recognition
Research, teaching, and achievement.
20262025—2026 2024—2025 2022 2021 2020 2018—2021
Best Poster Presentation Award
Photonics North 2026
Lillian Margaret & Walter David Jackson Scholarship in Physics
Western University
Department of Physics and Astronomy Teaching Assistant Award
Western University
Honours B.Sc. with High Distinction
University of Toronto
AP2D Group Summer Research Fellowship
University of Toronto
Innis College Exceptional Achievement Award
University of Toronto
Dean's List
University of Toronto
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