Jonathan C. Knight

Jonathan C. Knight, FRS (born 1964, in Lusaka) is a British physicist. He is the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) for the University of Bath^[1] where he has been Professor in the Department of Physics since 2000, and served as head of department.^[2] From 2005 to 2008, he was founding Director of the university's Centre for Photonics and Photonic Materials.

Jonathan Cave Knight
Born	17 June 1964 (1964-06-17) Lusaka, Zambia
Nationality	British
Alma mater	University of Cape Town
Known for	Photonic-crystal fiber Optical Fibers
Scientific career
Fields	Physics, photonics
Institutions	University of Bath
Thesis	Whispering gallery mode microlaser in a capillary fibre  (1993)
Doctoral advisor	G N Robertson, H S T Driver

Education

Knight studied at the University of Cape Town where he obtained his B.Sc. (Hons), M.Sc. and PhD. His doctoral thesis was on whispering gallery mode microlasers. He did postdoctoral research at the École Normale Supérieure (Paris, 1994–1995) and at the Optoelectronics Research Centre (University of Southampton, 1995–1996).

Research

Knight is interested in the behaviour of light in microstructured materials, and in the physics of optical fibres.^[3] Working with Russell and Tim Birks, he designed, fabricated and demonstrated a number of novel forms of optical fibre waveguide with previously unobtainable characteristics.^[4][5] This work has led to a range of outcomes including the commercialisation^[6],[7] of a new form of light source (supercontinuum), high power short pulse laser delivery through fibre, and applications in quantum and atomic physics.^[8] Belardi and Knight proposed the hollow-core "nested-ring" design for photonic fibres, at the beginning of 2014.^[9] Together with William Wadsworth, Knight co-created a new kind of laser capable of pulsed and continuous mid-infrared (IR) emission between 3.1 and 3.2 microns, a spectral range that has long presented a major challenge for laser developers.^[10]

Awards and recognition

• Elected Fellow of the Royal Society, 2019.^[11]
• Rank Prize in Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Prize, 2018^[12][13]
• Institute of Physics Optics and Photonics Division Prize, 2012^{[citation needed]}
• Fellow of Optical Society of America, 2011^[14]
• Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship, 2005–2006^{[citation needed]}

Selected publications

• Yu, F.; Wadsworth, W.J.; Knight, J.C. (2012). "Low loss silica hollow-core fibers for 3-4 μm spectral region" (PDF). Optics Express. 20 (10): 11153–8. Bibcode:2012OExpr..2011153Y. doi:10.1364/OE.20.011153. PMID 22565738.
• Stone, J. M.; Knight, J. C. (2008). "Visibly "white" light generation in uniform photonic crystal fiber using a microchip laser" (PDF). Optics Express. 16 (4): 2670–2675. Bibcode:2008OExpr..16.2670S. doi:10.1364/OE.16.002670. PMID 18542351.

• Knight, J. C. (2003). "Photonic crystal fibres". Nature. 424 (6950): 847–851. Bibcode:2003Natur.424..847K. doi:10.1038/nature01940. PMID 12917699. S2CID 23008689.
• Knight, J. C.; Russel, P. St. J. (2002). "New ways to guide light". Science. 296 (5566): 276–277. doi:10.1126/science.1070033. PMID 11951025. S2CID 34290857.

• Knight, J. C.; Broeng, J.; Birks, T. A.; Russell, P. St.J. (1998). "Photonic band gap guidance in optical fibers". Science. 282 (5393): 1476–1478. doi:10.1126/science.282.5393.1476. PMID 9822375.
• Knight, J. C.; Cheung, G.; Jacques, F.; Birks, T. A. (1997). "Phase-matched excitation of whispering-gallery-mode resonances by a fiber taper". Optics Letters. 22 (15): 1129–1131. Bibcode:1997OptL...22.1129K. doi:10.1364/OL.22.001129. PMID 18185771.

• Knight, J. C.; Birks, T. A.; Russell, P. St. J.; Atkin, D. M. (1996). "All-silica single-mode optical fiber with photonic crystal cladding". Optics Letters. 21 (19): 1547–9. Bibcode:1996OptL...21.1547K. doi:10.1364/OL.21.001547. PMID 19881720.

References

1. Knight, Jonathan. "Leadership profile". 24 September 2018. University of Bath.
2. Harris, Margaret (18 December 2008). "Top UK physics departments tumble in new assessment". 18 December 2008. Physics World.
3. Jonathan Knight publications indexed by Google Scholar
4. "Physics professors receive Rank Prize for optical fibre discoveries". 15 February 2018. My Science. 15 February 2018.
5. Gabriel, Gache (18 January 2008). "Newly Designed Optical Fiber Is Hollow". 18 January 2008. Softpedia.
6. Sabert, Hendrik; Knight, Jonathan. "Hollow-Core Fibers Seek the 'Holey' Grail". August 2003. Photonics Spectra.
7. Lloyd, Hywel. "8m deal as city firm sells assets to rival". 10 August 2004. Bath Chronicle.
8. Wadsworth, William; Knight, Jonathan; Birks, Tim. "State-of-the-Art Photonic Crystal Fiber". 1 March 2012. Optics and Photonics News.
9. Wallace, John (28 October 2014). "Hollow-core antiresonant optical fibers: Part II". 05 March 2019. Laser Focus World.
10. "New laser achieves wavelength long sought by laser developers". 05 March 2019. Phys.Org.
11. "Distinguished scientists elected as Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society, 16 April 2019"
12. "Past Prizes in Optoelectronics". The Rank Prize Funds. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
13. "For the invention and realisation of photonic crystal fibres."
14. For pioneering development of the photonic crystal fiber and particularly its application in nonlinear frequency conversion and supercontinuum generation.

External links

• Jonathan Knight publications indexed by Google Scholar
• Physics at the University of Bath
• Prof Knight profile at University of Bath.
• Visit to Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics
• Why do we need new types of optical fibres?, in Physics World.
• Professor Jonathan Knight on the Special Topic of Photonic Crystals.