EAGER: Collaborative Proposal: Novel Approaches for Generating and Controlling Light in the Optical No-Man's Land of the Far-IR

摘要题目：在远红外光学无人区产生和控制光的新方法摘要内容：非技术：雷斯特雷仑带是光谱的一部分，在那里材料对晶格集体振动产生的光有很强的吸收。虽然该波段因材料而异，但它通常落在20-60微米的波长之间，并且有效地阻止了在光谱的远红外部分发展任何重要的光学基础设施。从某种意义上说，雷斯特雷伦带是最后的光学前沿之一。这个EAGER项目的创新方法不仅在于我们努力为Reststrahlen波段的光学和光电子材料和器件的开发建立一个工具集，而且还在于它的目标是通过描述一套潜在的R-Optics应用和技术，为进一步的Reststrahlen波段探索奠定基础。在这样做的过程中，我们的愿望是为这个未开发的波长范围建立一个光学基础设施的框架，展示在这些长波长下产生、操纵和控制光的技术，同时也发展对这种长波光学和光电子设备在各种生物、化学、医疗和国防应用中的潜在应用的理解。技术:EAGER的主要推力将是综合理论，计算和实验工作，以（a)证明一系列材料系统的声子增强热发射，并使用自聚焦和转向表面改进声子辅助光收集，(b)通过i）控制自由载流子以定制声子材料的介电常数和ii)氮化镓中的同位素工程来扩大雷斯特拉赫伦带的覆盖范围。(c)产生和检测半导体量子级联器件中非平衡声子种群的光发射，用于电泵雷斯特拉赫带源的潜在开发。我们将开发Reststrahlen波段的空间和光谱选择性热源，以及控制材料Reststrahlen波段光学特性的机制。同时，我们将展示基于准粒子产生的源，使用类似量子级联的设备。我们还将研究一系列材料系统，以建立一个材料（和材料特性）库，用于开发用于雷斯特雷蒙斯带应用的复合光学材料。我们的许多器件和材料，尽管不是全部，都将通过分子束外延生长，所有材料和复合材料都将通过傅里叶变换红外和拉曼光谱来表征，作为温度，材料成分和/或几何形状的函数，以及电（或光）泵浦功率。为期18个月的EAGER的最终结果是雄心勃勃的：为迄今为止服务不足且大部分被避免的波长范围开发光学和光电子基础和框架。

Abstract Title: Novel Approaches for Generating and Controlling Light in the Optical No-Man's Land of the Far-IRAbstract Content:Nontechnical: The Reststrahlen Band is the portion of the optical spectrum where materials have strong absorption of light resulting from collective vibrations of the crystal lattice. Though this band varies between materials, it generally falls between the wavelengths of 20-60 microns, and has effectively precluded the development of any significant optical infrastructure in this far-IR portion of the optical spectrum. In some sense, the Reststrahlen Band is one of the last optical frontiers. This EAGER program's innovative approach lies not only in our efforts to build a tool-set for the development of optical and optoelectronic materials and devices in the Reststrahlen band, but also in its goal of laying the foundation for further Reststrahlen band exploration by delineating a set of potential R-Optics applications and technologies. In doing so, our desire is to build the framework of an optical infrastructure for this unexplored wavelength range, demonstrating techniques for generating, manipulating, and controlling light at these long wavelengths, but also developing an understanding of the potential applications of such long-wavelength optical and optoelectronic devices for a variety of biological, chemical, medical and defense applications. Technical: The primary thrust of the EAGER will be an integrated theoretical, computational, and experimental effort to (a) demonstrate phonon-enhanced thermal emission from a range of material systems, and improve phonon-assisted light collection using self-focusing and steering surfaces, (b) expand coverage of the Reststrahlen band by i) control of free-carriers to tailor the permittivity of phononic materials and ii) isotope engineering in GaN, and (c) generate and detect optical emission from non-equilibrium phonon populations in semiconductor quantum-cascade-like devices, for the potential development of electrically-pumped Reststrahlen band sources. We will develop spatially and spectrally selective thermal sources in the Reststrahlen band, as well as mechanisms for controlling materials' Reststrahlen band optical properties. At the same time, we will look to demonstrate sources based on quasiparticle generation using quantum cascade-like devices. We will also investigate a range of material systems in order to build a library of materials (and material properties) for the development of composite optical materials for Reststrahlen band applications. Many, though not all, of our devices and materials will be grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy, and all materials and composites will be characterized by Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy, as a function of temperature, material composition and/or geometry, and electrical (or optical) pumping power. The end result of the 18-month EAGER is ambitious: the development of an optical and optoelectronic foundation and framework for a heretofore underserved and mostly avoided wavelength range.