While applying for PhD in Deep learning, how useful are papers in some other topics like photonics? I am a EEE student. My plan is to go for higher studies on Deep learning and neural networks. Suppose, I have an opportunity to do research on a photonics/nano material/device physics project. How much would papers in any of these three topics help me during PHD admissions in USA for deep learning?
Secondly suppose, instead of doing journal papers in these, I may be able to do mediocre/good conference papers in deep learning. In such scenario which would be best?
Thanks in advance!
You can specialize later on, any research experience you have is definitely a plus. Here's an untold secret, researchers will often switch between subjects throughout their careers (depends on the field and the researcher, some choose to focus on a very narrow field). This means, that it is not uncommon for researchers to begin writing about a completely new subject that they have very little knowleage of simply because they received funding to investigate that topic.
That's a long winded way of saying, don't sweat it. Your previous experience is not useless. It certainly won't hurt if you can author (or co-author) a paper in deep learning.