Collaborative Research: Laser Manufacturing of Three-Dimensional Lightwave Circuits and Nano-Optical Devices

合作研究：三维光波电路和纳米光学器件的激光制造

• 批准号: 1109971
• 负责人: Yuankun Lin
• 金额: $ 24.02万
• 依托单位: University of North Texas
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-01 至 2014-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1109971&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Laser; Manufacturing; Three

The research objective of this collaborative award is to develop flexible and cross-platform methods to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) lightwave circuits and photonic crystal structures in transparent media. A laser direct writing technique using high-repetition-rate femtosecond laser will be explored to produce compact 3D lightwave circuits. The approach takes advantages of multi-photon process induced by ultrashort laser pulses to initialize a universal photosensitivity response to change refractive indices in a wide array of optical materials. Bulk heating effects from high-repetition laser pulses will be utilized to mitigate laser-induced material damages to minimize optical loss and to achieve desired device performance of lightwave circuits. To fabricate 3D periodic photonic structures, multi-layer near-field diffractive optical elements will be developed to produce 3D interference patterns. Periodic photonic structures such as diamond-like photonic crystals will be fabricated using this one-optical-element and one-laser-exposure holographic fabrication process. If successful, the results of this research will yield a cross-platform laser manufacturing technique to fabricate high-quality lightwave circuits in a wide array of optical substrates. The fabrication technique will enable new 3D photonic circuit architectures that allows lightwave circuits to be routed vertically and continuously in- and out- of a plane. This will drastically increase the density, functionality, and complexity of the optical circuitry. The success of this research will also enable the fabrication of mid-IR fiber lasers and sensor devices for applications in chemical sensing and structural health monitoring in harsh environments. The holographic laser fabrication developed from this award can be conveniently built into the existing multiple mask fabrication flow for integrated optoelectronic circuit manufacturing. This enables the monolithic integration of photonic crystal structures with other on-chip optical components for widespread applications. This award will also support an interdisciplinary training program for undergraduate students on the integrated laser manufacturing and product innovation. Through undergraduate extracurricular activities on robotics and minority outreach activities, the proposed education programs will attract female and under-represented minority students to study engineering and science at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

该合作奖项的研究目标是开发灵活的跨平台方法，以在透明介质中制造三维（3D）光波电路和光子晶体结构。本研究将探讨利用高重复频率飞秒激光直接写入技术来制作紧凑的三维光波电路。该方法利用超短激光脉冲诱导的多光子过程来引发普遍的光敏响应，从而改变各种光学材料的折射率。将利用高重复率激光脉冲的体加热效应来减轻激光诱导的材料损伤，以最大限度地减少光学损耗并实现光波电路的期望器件性能。为了制作三维周期性光子结构，将开发多层近场衍射光学元件以产生三维干涉图案。利用这种单光学元件和单激光曝光的全息制作工艺，可以制作出周期性的光子结构，如类金刚石光子晶体。如果成功的话，这项研究的结果将产生一种跨平台的激光制造技术，在广泛的光学基板上制造高质量的光波电路。该制造技术将使新的3D光子电路架构，允许光波电路垂直和连续地进出平面。这将大大增加光学电路的密度、功能和复杂性。这项研究的成功还将使中红外光纤激光器和传感器设备的制造成为可能，用于恶劣环境中的化学传感和结构健康监测。从这个奖项开发的全息激光制造可以方便地内置到现有的集成光电子电路制造的多掩模制造流程。这使得光子晶体结构与其他片上光学组件的单片集成能够广泛应用。该奖项还将为本科生提供集成激光制造和产品创新的跨学科培训计划。通过关于机器人和少数民族外联活动的本科生课外活动，拟议的教育方案将吸引女性和代表性不足的少数民族学生在本科和研究生阶段学习工程和科学。