NER: Flexible Photonic Crystals - A New Pathway to Tunability

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It is proposed to conduct an exploratory research and education program to develop and demonstrate new dynamically tunable nano-photonic device concept based on flexible photonic crystals (PCs). The flexible PC is comprised of a periodic array of high index dielectric material and a low index flexible polymer. The tunability is achieved by applying mechanical force by a micromachined actuator, which induces changes in the crystal structure and subsequently in the photonic band structure. The fundamental science and engineering that will be addressed are (1) development of novel tunable photonic crystal device design by extensive numerical simulations, (2) fabrication of such tunable nano-photonic devices using lithography techniques and (3) comprehensive device characterization by both structural and optical characterization techniques. The proposed program is highly exploratory as it represents the first attempt, to our knowledge, to combine two traditionally unrelated fields, namely, nano-photonics and nano-/micro-electro-mechanical systems (NEMS/MEMS) technology, providing a completely new pathway to achieve tunability in nano-photonic devices.This program will provide an excellent research opportunity for graduate students. It is also proposed to develop special topic lectures based on this research project that can be used for both existing and newly developed graduate courses at both University of Colorado at Boulder (UCB) and University of Texas at Dallas. It will significantly contribute to the on-going effort by the UCB faculty to build a focused educational program on nano-photonics. It will also contribute to the NSF-IGERT program on optical science and engineering at UCB. The proposed program has an added importance to the states of Colorado and Texas where high concentrations of photonics and telecommunication companies are located. This proposal is intended to support the photonics/microelectronics industry, both local and national, by developing new nano-photonic device concepts with high commercial potential and also by supplying well-trained engineers. Also, the research results will be broadly disseminated by both conventional and unconventional means such as the university websites, NSF digital library and CD-ROMs.