Collaborative Research: Novel 3D Nanocomposites for Optical and Solar Applications: A First Principles Approach to Cost-Effective Design, Nanomanufacturing and Characterization.

这项多学科活动的研究目标是设计、制造和表征介电介质中由多种金属组成的纳米复合材料。方法将是利用理论和实验来设计和发现新的光学纳米材料。光学理论将被用来理解金属纳米粒子中等离子体对光的优越吸收。流体力学理论和基于第一原理的计算机模拟将用于指导基于知识的方法来设计由特定浓度和类型的电介质中的金属组成的功能纳米复合材料。由此产生的三维纳米复合材料结构将利用薄膜沉积与基于激光的图案形成相结合来制造。这些纳米材料将通过结构和光学技术来表征，以便测试和验证设计以及制造过程。如果成功的话，这一综合研究活动将推动具有成本效益的纳米材料制造的科学和技术，用于光学、等离子体和纳米光子学。创新性地利用自组织模式，结合对纳米结构-光学性质相关性的理论和实践理解，将使多功能纳米复合材料成为可能。这些纳米复合材料将被用作光伏电池中能量收集的宽带太阳能吸收涂层，光学衍射极限以下的光波导材料，以及集成硅光子学。这项研究的广泛影响将包括在光学、流体动力学、材料科学和纳米技术等跨学科科学和工程领域对本科生和研究生的培训和教育。

The research objective of this multidisciplinary activity is to design, make and characterize nanocomposites consisting of multiple metals in a dielectric. The approach will be to use theory and experiments to design and discover novel optical nanomaterials. Optical theory will be utilized to understand the superior absorption of light by plasmons in metal nanoparticles. Hydrodynamic theory and computer simulations based on first principles will be used to guide a knowledge-based approach to the design of functional nanocomposites consisting of specific concentrations and types of metals in dielectrics. The resulting three-dimensional nanocomposite structures will be manufactured by utilizing thin-film deposition in conjunction with laser-based pattern formation. These nanomaterials will be characterized by structural and optical techniques in order to test and verify the design as well as the manufacturing processes.If successful, this integrated research activity will advance the science and technology of cost-effective manufacturing of nanomaterials for applications in optics, plasmonics and nanophotonics. The innovative use of self-organized patterns with a theoretical and practical understanding of nanostructure-optical property correlation will enable multi-functional nanocomposites. These nanocomposites will find use as broadband solar absorbing coatings for energy harvesting in photovoltaics, as materials for light waveguides in length scales below the optical diffraction limit, and in integrated silicon photonics. The broader impact from this research will include the training and education of undergraduate and graduate students in interdisciplinary science and engineering areas of optics, hydrodynamics, materials science and nanotechnology.