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

据估计，光子元件可为光电、医疗、电信等行业提供近1000亿美元的产品。 随着光子器件的尺寸接近纳米级，工业面临的关键挑战是来自硅基纳米结构（诸如纳米线）的可控光发射。 为了使纳米光子学真正成为一个可行的产业，工程师必须能够像对大块半导体一样，利用应变和变形来可控地调整纳米线的带隙，以设计和设计其发光特性。 因此，本CAREER提案的目的是获得关于如何通过控制由于表面应力和施加的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础知识。 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，这些工具将连贯地合并用于基于硅宝石的纳米光子器件的光学机械设计的力学和光学原理。如果成功，拟议的研究将：（1）能够设计多功能的基于硅宝石的纳米光子器件，其光发射特性可以通过施加机械变形来可控地修改。 (2)实现硅纳米光子系统的系统实时可重构性，以校正由于外部干扰引起的光发射变化。(3)通过当地教育和外联活动，使代表性不足的少数群体参与纳米工程研究和教育进程。 (4)通过将拟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.