Acquisition of Optical Parametric Oscillator, Monochromator and Multiscaler for Research and Student Training

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0076322Houde-WalterThe Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester is building an excitation spectroscopy laboratory for research in new optical sources utilizing nano-engineered optical materials. An optical parametric oscillator, monochromator and multiscaler will be used in four research programs and two undergraduate/graduate training labs. Energy transfer will be studied using excitation spectroscopy to refine laser rate equation models and help to determine the best host composition and doping levels in rare-earth doped nano-glasses. In a related teaching lab exercise, students will observe cooperative luminescence in Yb-doped glasses, as is currently practiced in optical amplifier research. In another project, radiative impurity complexes will be introduced into silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structures that exhibit enhanced absorption/emission via nanostructured surfaces. Excitation spectroscopy will be used to elucidate the microscopic processes that determine emission cross sections in the hybridized SOI structures. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy will be used to explore phonon mode control in isotopically pure crystalline Si. The new lab will permit the excitation of high spatial densities of indirect excitons, which may result in coherent phonon emission. Group III-V quantum dots, as made by in-situ laser patterning during molecular-beam epitaxial (MBE) growth, will also be investigated. Resonant excitation will be used to probe quantum dots of very narrow size distributions and may indicate the limit of what might be eventually achieved with an ensemble of uniform features. In a related lab, undergraduate students will investigate the absorption spectra of bulk crystals with various bandgaps (Si or GaAs, GaP, and GaN or diamond) as well as quantum well and dot group III-V semiconductors grown in our MBE lab. Honors students will also be encouraged to use the new lab for independent projects during their senior year.***The Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester, which grants Bachelors, Masters and doctoral degrees in Optical Science and Engineering, is building a new optical spectroscopy lab for research and training. New optical materials that utilize features on the nanometer (one billionth ofa meter) scale, will be emphasized. New training exercises that are closely related to this research will be offered to both undergraduate seniors and first-year graduate students. A tunable source and associated detection equipment will be used to probe the relationships between the microscopic components and their radiative efficiency. Improved knowledge and design of materials for many applications, including biomedical research and telecommunications, are expected. However, the overarching goal of this new laboratory is to reveal fundamental relations and elucidate hidden connections in the characterization and process parameters of new (or just useful) optical materials.%%%