NIRT: Advanced Characterization Techniques In Optics for Nanostructures (ACTION)

该提案是响应纳米尺度科学与工程计划，NSF 01-157，类别NIRT而收到的。最近的进展使得原子一个原子或分子一个分子地组装材料和组件成为可能，从而可以控制尺寸从3到100纳米的纳米结构的制造。与孤立分子或块状材料的行为相比，纳米结构的行为表现出重要的物理性质，这并不一定是从单个成分或大集合的观察中预测出来的。在纳米尺度上，主要是在光学和电子性质中观察到的尺寸限制和量子力学行为，以及不同的弹性和/或力学特征。利用纳米尺度的行为来提高材料性能和器件功能的可能性超出了我们目前认为可行的范围，这是广泛期待的。这些新材料和新装置预示着科学技术的革命时代的到来，只要我们能观察到它们的详细操作，并发现和利用它们的基本原理。纳米技术的发展对表征（测量）技术提出了一个突出的挑战，需要纳米尺度的三维测量能力。虽然纳米合成技术发展迅速，但纳米结构的光学表征仍处于起步阶段。我们将以波士顿大学和罗切斯特大学现有的专业知识和基础设施为基础，开发一个新的纳米光学表征技术工具箱，以发现和理解纳米结构的新特性。纳米级跨学科研究团队（NIRT）计划在纳米结构光学高级表征技术（ACTION）将开发测量方法来研究和理解纳米结构。固体浸泡显微镜技术与金属尖端相结合，将为量子点和其他半导体系统的光谱提供前所未有的分辨率。该计划的最终目标是在10纳米的空间分辨率上开发强大而高效的光学技术。除了建立必要的工具来研究纳米结构的新特性，我们将应用这些工具来帮助回答纳米研究人员今天面临的基本问题。在量子信息处理领域，我们将研究实验上难以接近的紧密耦合量子点、激发态的相干性和可调谐微腔中的量子点；在纳米力学系统领域，我们将探讨共振纳米结构中能量耗散和相位噪声的详细机制；在纳米光子学领域，我们将直接确定光子带隙结构中缺陷态的局部模态体积，并研究模式泄漏的纳米级起源；在超声领域，我们将在纳米尺度上测量固体的弹性特性，首次探索纳米尺度应力的高频状态。

This proposal was received in response to Nanoscale Science and Engineering initiative, NSF 01-157, category NIRT. Recent advances have made it possible to assemble materials and components atom by atom, or molecule by molecule allowing for controlled fabrication of nanostructures with dimensions of from 3 to 100 nm. Compared to the behavior of isolated molecules or bulk materials, the behavior of nanostructures exhibit important physical properties not necessarily predictable from observations of either individual constituents or large ensembles. Predominant at the nanoscale are size confinement and quantum mechanical behavior observed in optical and electronic properties, as well as distinct elastic and/or mechanical features. The possibility of utilizing nanoscale behavior to enhance material properties and device functions beyond those that we currently consider feasible is widely anticipated. These new materials and devices herald a revolutionary age for science and technology, provided we can observe the detailed operation and discover and utilize the underlying principles. The developments in nanotechnology present an outstanding challenge to characterization (measurement) technology by requiring nm-scale 3-D measurement capabilities. While the technology for synthesis has rapidly advanced, optical characterization of nanostructures is still in its infancy. We will build on existing expertise and infrastructure at Boston University and University of Rochester and develop a toolbox of novel nano-optical characterization techniques to discover and understand the novel properties of nanostructures. The Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Team (NIRT) program in Advanced Characterization Techniques in Optics for Nanostructures (ACTION) will develop measurement methods to study and understand nanostructures. Solid immersion microscopy techniques combined with metal-tips will provide unprecedented resolution for spectroscopy of quantum dots and other semiconductor systems. The ultimate goal of the proposed program is to develop robust and efficient optical techniques at a spatial resolution on the order of 10 nm.Beyond building the required tools to investigate novel properties of nanostructures, we will apply these tools to help answer fundamental questions facing nanoscale researchers today. In the area of quantum information processing, we will investigate the experimentally inaccessible regime of closely coupled quantum dots, the coherence of excited states, and quantum dots in tunable microcavities; in the area nanomechanical systems, we will explore the detailed mechanisms of energy dissipation and phase noise in resonant nanostructures; in the area of nanophotonics, we will directly determine the local modal volumes of defect states in photonics bandgap structures and investigate the nanoscale origins of mode leakage; and in the area of ultrasonics, we will measure the elastic properties of solids at the nanoscale, exploring the high frequency regime of nanoscale stresses for the first time.