RUI: Experimental Studies of Isotropic Disordered Photonic Band Gap Structures

技术描述：该项目的目标是了解电磁波在无序光子介质中的传播，并在一类新的工程无序光子带隙材料中揭示控制和引导光的新机制。与传统的光子带隙形成理论相反，PI和她的合作者最近预测，在某些超均匀无序介电系统中存在一个大的各向同性完全能隙（所有极化的禁止频率），而不是与局域态相关的迁移率隙。在这个研究项目中，PI和她的实验室连接了两个以前被认为是独立的领域：光子带隙，通常与周期性（布拉格散射）有关，和光局域化，通常与无序系统有关。他们使用微波和厘米尺度的样品来揭示无序材料中各种电磁波模式（光子态）的性质，测量带隙宽度、鲁棒性和色散，并比较它们对无序结构几何的依赖，以确定光子带隙形成的基本性质。通过探索这些系统中的功能波导和腔结构，PI的实验室测试了这些无序带隙结构作为自由形式光学电路的各向同性平台，并证明了它们在控制光子传播方面比光子晶体更有优势。PI还在亚微米尺度上制作和表征了这些无序结构，以探索它们在红外中的性能和应用。非技术描述：光子带隙材料是一种精心制作的材料，旨在控制光的传播，在许多领域都有应用，包括信号处理、电信、激光和太阳能收集。本课题为各向同性无序光子带隙材料在微波和红外波段的应用奠定了实验基础。各向同性无序光子带隙材料为传统光子带隙材料的晶体结构所限制的器件设计提供了灵活性和多功能性。他们有潜力提高控制和引导光的能力，并通过发明新颖的光子器件来影响光子学工业。该项目将教育和研究相结合，并将研究方法和结果纳入旧金山州立大学（SFSU）的讲座和实验课程。它为旧金山州立大学的学生提供了研究和职业发展的机会，极大地丰富了学生的学习经验，包括大量少数民族和经济困难的学生。PI向加州的教育工作者伸出援助之手，招募、培训和培养K-12和大学教师的专业发展，使他们能够将现代光学、材料科学和高级几何融入他们的教学中，从而丰富了来自不同背景的K-12和大学生的教育。

Technical Description: The goal of this project is to understand electromagnetic wave propagation in disordered photonic media and to uncover novel mechanisms that control and guide light in a new class of engineered disordered photonic band gap materials. In contrast to the conventional photonic bandgap formation theory, it has been recently predicted by the PI and her collaborators that a large isotropic complete energy gap (forbidden frequencies for all polarization), rather than a mobility gap associated with localized states, exists in certain hyperuniform disordered dielectric systems. In this research project, the PI and her laboratory bridge two areas previously considered separate: photonic bandgap, usually associated with periodicity (Bragg's scattering), and light localization, usually associated with disordered systems. They use microwave and centimeter-scale samples to uncover the nature of various electromagnetic wave modes (photonic states) in the disordered materials, measure bandgap width, robustness and dispersion, and compare their dependence on the geometry of the disordered structures to determine the properties essential for photonic bandgap formation. By exploring the functional waveguide and cavity architecture in these systems, the PI's laboratory tests these disordered bandgap structures as isotropic platforms for freeform optical circuits and demonstrates their advantages over photonic crystals in controlling photon propagation. The PI also fabricates and characterizes these disordered structures at sub-micrometer scale to explore their properties and applications in the infrared.Non-technical Description: Photonic bandgap materials are artfully made materials designed to manipulate light propagation and have applications in many fields, including signal processing, telecommunication, lasering and solar-energy harvesting. This research project lays the experimental foundation for using isotropic disordered photonic bandgap materials for applications at microwave and infrared frequencies. The isotropic disordered photonic bandgap materials offer flexibility and versatility in device design that are prohibited by the crystalline structures in conventional photonic bandgap materials. They have a potential to advance the abilities to control and guide light and to impact the photonics industry by inventing novel photonic devices. This project integrates education and research and incorporates the research methods and results into lecture and laboratory courses at San Francisco State University (SFSU). It offers opportunities for research and career development to SFSU students and greatly enriches the learning experience of students, including large numbers of minority and economically challenged students. The PI reaches out to California educators to recruit, train, and nurture the professional development of K-12 and college teachers preparing them to integrate modern optics, materials science, and advanced geometry into their teaching, thereby enriching the education of many K-12 and college students from diverse backgrounds.