CAREER: Fabrication of Two- and Three-Dimensional Photonic Crystals

9501820梅耶尔这个项目的主要目标是激发和激励各个层次(本科生、研究生、研究生)的学习。在基础研究领域，作者建议开发一种用于光学波长的二维和三维(2D和3D)光子晶体的制备工艺。所要制作的三维周期介质结构是简立方晶格中的方棒结构。这种脚手架结构具有所有平面彼此成直角的特性。直观地说，这意味着这种方棒结构的制造过程将比面心立方晶格的制造过程容易得多。建议的工艺依赖于目前用于制造III-V光电子器件的许多技术的集成。具体地说，这种三维结构将由分子束外延(MBE)生长的GaAs/AlAs堆栈制成。在生长之后，使用电子束光刻在表面样品上定义了亚微米交叉阴影图案。使用反应离子束刻蚀(RIBE)去除了GaAs/AlAs堆栈的未保护区域。为了完成光子晶体，修改了AlAs载体的组成结构，并在选择性腐蚀剂中去除了AlAs的交替层。在实现这一三维结果的过程中，还将制造一个二维结构。这两种光子晶体都将用透射法进行表征。3-D光子晶体在光学波长的成功演示将允许开发一种新的设备，可以用来反射、捕获、引导和开关光。***

9501820 Mayer The primary objective of this project is to stimulate and motivate learning at every level (undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate). In the area of fundamental research, the author proposes to develop a process to fabricate 2- and 3- dimensional (2- and 3-D) photonic crystals for optical wavelengths. The 3-D periodic dielectric structure that will be fabricated is a square-rod structure in the simple-cubic lattice. This scaffold structure has the property that all of the flat faces are at right angles to one another. Intuitively, this implies that the fabrication procedure for this square-rod structure will be much easier than those described for face-centered-cubic lattices. The proposed process relies on the integration of many techniques that are currently being used to fabricate III-V optoelectronic devices. In particular, the 3-D structure will be fabricated from a GaAs/A1As stack grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Following the growth, a submicron cross-hatched pattern is defined on the sample of the surface using electron-beam lithography. The unprotected areas of the GaAs/A1As stack are removed using reactive ion beam etching (RIBE). To complete the photonic crystal, the compositional structure of the A1As supports is modified and the alternating layers of A1As are removed in a selective etchant. En route to this 3-D result, a 2-D structure will also be fabricated. Both of these photonic crystals will be characterized by the transmission method. The successful demonstration of a 3-D photonic crystal at optical wavelengths would allow the development of a new class of devices that could be used to reflect, trap, guide, and switch light. ***