Collaborative Research: Combining Infrared Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry on a Nanophotonic Platform for Chemical Sensing

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The research objective of this award is to explore on-chip infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry for sensitive detection and identification of gas molecules. Both detection mechanisms will be studied using a photonic crystal device which serve simultaneously as a nanophotonic cavity and a nanomechanical resonator. Using this photonic crystal structure, the proposed research will study cavity-enhanced optomechanical resonance phenomena and infrared light-molecule interaction mechanisms in the nanoscale. In this program, new material systems, photonic device designs and fabrication technologies will also be investigated for the strategically important mid-infrared wave band. The chipscale, dual-mode sensor created in this program will have an immediate impact in the fields of nanophotonics, nanomechanics, and chem/bio sensing if successful. Synergistically combining nanomechanical and nanophotonic detection methods on a common device platform will overcome the specificity and sensitivity bottlenecks limiting on-chip sensing technologies: the dual-mode sensor measures molecular weight and characteristic infrared absorption fingerprints of analyte, thus enabling recognition and quantification of chemical species with high accuracy; cavity-enhanced interactions in the nanoscale also lead to improved limit of detection potentially down to a single-molecule level. In addition, innovations in mid-infrared materials and devices made through this program will fill the missing link in long-wave integrated optoelectronics critical to imaging, spectroscopy, and free-space communications. The participating undergraduate and graduate researchers will benefit from the cross-cutting collaboration between the two groups and summer exchanges with national laboratories to extend their technical experiences. The program will also expand K-12 initiatives at both participating universities through high school student mentoring and new optical science class module development.