Optical/Photonic Properties of Hybrid Silicon-on-Insulator Materials

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The aim of this project is to explore fundamental materials and optical engineering aspects of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) as a means to combine optical and electronic functions on a common silicon substrate. Although silicon is not an especially hospitable material for most important optical effects, the development and introduction of the SOI materials system may have created an opportunity for bringing light-based functionality to silicon. The key feature of the SOI system is a thin layer of single-crystal Si formed on an insulating silicon-dioxide (SiO2) surface. The SiO2 surface makes it possible to insulate from each other adjacent electronic components formed in the thin layer of Si. The optical opportunity arises because that thin layer of Si can function as an optical waveguide, trapping light by the same physical mechanism employed in an optical fiber. This project will investigate the optical/photonic properties of hybrid SOI materials, a term that refers to a family of materials formed by adding overlayers of nanoparticles, nanostructures, molecules, polymers or other materials to conventional SOI material. The basic idea is to add optical functionality via the overlayers, using the exponential tails of the waveguide modes supported by the SOI structure to couple this optical functionality to the interior of the Si layer. This is a surprisingly strong effect: it has already been demonstrated that a monolayer of noble-metal nanoparticles can increase the absorption in the thin SOI Si layer by approximately a factor of 20 at 0.8 um. Measurements of the optical response of a wide range of hybrid SOI materials as a function of frequency (or wavelength) for continuous-wave and pulsed illumination in both the linear and nonlinear regimes will be studied to reveal the degree to which such materials might become an important platform for future optical/photonic and electronic technologies.%%%The project addresses basic research issues in a topical area of materials science having high potential technological relevance. The research will contribute basic materials science knowledge at a fundamental level to important fabrication aspects of electronic/photonic devices. New experimental materials science and optical tools are now available to allow more detailed observation of elementary surface and optical processes which when better understood allow advances in fundamental science and technology. The basic knowledge and understanding gained from the research is expected to contribute to improving the perform-ance and stability of advanced devices and circuits for computing and communications. An important feature of the program is the integration of research and education through the training of students in a fundamentally and technologically significant area.***