CAREER: Silicon Compatible Hybrid Nanophotonic Systems

该项目旨在利用纳米结构材料独特的光学特性，推动硅光子学领域的发展。硅光子学是一项快速发展的技术，它将用光学互连取代计算机芯片上现有的铜互连。芯片设计上的这种根本性变化有望通过提高数据传输速度和减少电子电路的热负荷来显著提高计算机的性能。硅光子学的成功依赖于片上光源和微型光波导的集成。该研究项目旨在开发纳米结构半导体光源和纳米金属波导，用于集成到硅光子学平台中。光源将由半导体纳米晶体和稀土离子组成，嵌入二氧化硅基氧化物中。纳米晶体的电子特性使稀土离子能够有效激发，从而产生1.53微米的光，可用于传输信息。此外，基于电荷波或表面等离子体的纳米波导也将被制造出来。这两种纳米光子光学元件的混合集成可以在硅光子学中发挥核心作用。更广泛的影响中佛罗里达大学这个项目的建立将有助于培养下一代在纳米光子学领域工作的科学家和工程师。这个研究项目的成果将被整合到纳米光子学的新课程中，课程材料将使用SharePoint技术在网上提供。该课程还将通过在线流媒体提供，使当地行业和公众可以访问这些材料。此外，一个新的纳米光子学系列研讨会将启动，将国际知名的演讲者带到佛罗里达中部地区。这些举措将使许多年轻科学家接触到纳米光子学的迷人领域。

0644228Intellectual MeritThis Faculty Early Career Development project aims to advance the field of silicon photonics by taking advantage of the unique optical properties of nanostructured materials. Silicon photonics is a rapidly developing technology that will replace existing copper interconnects on computer chips with optical interconnects. This radical change in chip design promises to dramatically increase the performance of computers by increasing data transfer speeds and reducing the thermal load on electronic circuits. The success of silicon photonics relies on the integration of on-chip light sources and miniature optical waveguides. This research program aims to develop and nanostructured semiconductor light sources and nanoscale metal waveguides for integration into the silicon photonics platform. The light source will consist of semiconductor nanocrystals and rare earth ions, embedded in silica based oxides. The electronic properties of the nanocrystals enable efficient excitation of the rare earth ions, resulting in the emission of 1.53 um light that can be used to transport information. Additionally, nanoscale waveguides based on the use of charge waves or surface plasmons will be fabricated. The hybrid integration of these two nanophotonic optical elements could play a central role in silicon photonics. Broader ImpactThe establishment of this program at the University of Central Florida will contribute to the education of the next generation of scientists and engineers that will work in the area nanophotonics. The results of this research program will be integrated in a new course on Nanophotonics, and the course material will be made available online using SharePoint technology. The course will also be offered via online streaming, making the material accessible to local industries and to the general public. Additionally, a new Nanophotonics seminar series will be initiated, bringing internationally renowned speakers to the Central Florida region. These initiatives together will expose many young scientists to the fascinating area of nanophotonics.