CAREER: Multiscale Design of the Coupled Optomechanical Properties of Silicon Nanowires

据估计，光子学组件为光电、医疗、电信和许多其他行业提供了近1000亿美元的产品。随着光子器件的尺寸接近纳米级，工业面临的一个关键挑战是硅基纳米结构（如纳米线）的可控光发射。为了让纳米光子学真正成为一个可行的产业，工程师们必须能够像处理大块半导体一样，利用应变和变形来控制纳米线的带隙，从而设计和设计纳米线的发光特性。因此，本CAREER提案的目标是获得关于如何通过控制由表面应力和施加变形引起的应变状态来可预测地定制硅纳米线的发光特性的基本知识。这些见解将通过开发新的多尺度、耦合物理计算工具来获得，这些计算工具将连贯地融合力学和光学原理，用于基于硅纳米线的纳米光子器件的光力学设计。如果成功，该研究将：(1)能够设计出基于硅纳米线的多功能纳米光子器件，其发光特性可以通过施加机械变形来可控地改变。(2)使硅纳米光子系统具有系统的、实时的可重构性，以纠正由于外部干扰引起的光发射变化。(3)通过地方教育和推广活动，使代表性不足的少数民族参与纳米工程的研究和教育过程。(4)通过将建议的研究整合到课程中，培养未来的纳米工程师进行基于模拟的纳米工程设计。

Photonics components are estimated to enable nearly $100 billion in products for industries such as optoelectronic, medical, telecommunications and many others. As the size of photonic devices approaches the nanoscale, a critical challenge facing industry is controllable light emission from silicon-based nanostructures such as nanowires. For nanophotonics to truly become a viable industry, engineers must be able to, as they can with bulk semiconductors, controllably tune the bandgap in nanowires using strain and deformation to design and engineer their light emitting properties. Therefore, the objective of this CAREER proposal is to gain fundamental knowledge on how the light emission characteristics of silicon nanowires can be predictably tailored by controlling the state of strain due to surface stresses and applied deformation. These insights will be garnered through development of novel multiscale, coupled physics computational tools that coherently merge mechanics and optics principles for the optomechanical design of silicon nanowire-based nanophotonic devices.If successful, the proposed research will: (1) Enable the design of multifunctional silicon nanowire-based nanophotonic devices whose light emission characteristics can be controllably modified by the imposition of mechanical deformation. (2) Enable systematic, real-time reconfigurability of silicon nanophotonic systems to correct optical emission variations due to external disturbances. (3) Result in the involvement of underrepresented minorities in the nanoengineering research and education process through local education and outreach activities. (4) Train future nanoengineers in simulation-based nanoengineering design by the integration of the proposed research into the curriculum.