DMREF/Collaborative Research: Theory-Enabled Development of 2D Metal Dichalcogenides as Active Elements of On-Chip Silicon-Integrated Optical Communication

题目：DMREF/合作研究：片上硅集成光通信材料的开发硅电子芯片之间的数据传输速率已经达到极限，阻碍了高速智能手机、计算机和互联网设备的持续发展。而硅?硅的特性对于电子器件来说是极好的，基于硅的光源无法进行高效、高速的通信。在材料基因组计划的框架内，该项目将寻求新的材料和相关的制造工艺来克服这一障碍。最近有研究表明，MDC材料，如二硫化钼，可以在二氧化硅衬底上生长成大规模、高质量的原子薄膜。理论上，预测这种材料是半导体，具有可调谐的直接带隙，使其在光通信应用中比硅优越得多。该研究项目旨在发展对这种原子薄材料的制造和控制的理论驱动理解，以验证其作为芯片上光源用于未来集成电路的光学互连。各专业机构在各自机构内推广STEM活动方面，都有良好的记录。他们打算与高中生、本科生和研究生合作，并让来自代表性不足群体的学生参与计划中的研究。这个项目提出的外展活动是扎实的，肯定会产生更广泛的社会影响。该项目的目标是在原子材料理论和各种二维金属二硫族及其合金的化学材料合成之间建立一个持续的知识联系，作为发现、合成和加速适用于电信和数据处理应用的下一代片上激光器件的基础。它建立在主要研究人员最近的发现基础上，如不同金属二硫化物相的应变稳定，连续单层二硫化钼薄膜的毫米级生长，损耗管理和具有低于光衍射极限的光学模式尺寸的激光设备的演示。研究合作者将结合广泛材料的理论筛选和基板结构稳定性的预测建模，开发各种材料的生长方法，以及对波导测试的应用功能评估。该项目汇集了一套跨学科的方法，从分析和数值模拟，到化学过程开发以及片上集成激光器件的设计和表征。这种垂直的、基于理论的材料开发方法的整合实现了材料基因组计划的目标。该项目的成功将在未来几年为功能二维材料领域提供输入，这将有助于新型光子集成电路和潜在传感器的发展。

Title: DMREF/Collaborative Research: Development of Materials for On-Chip Silicon-Integrated Optical Communication Data transfer rates between silicon electronic chips are reaching a limit that prevents the continued development of high speed smart-phones, computers, and internet devices. While silicon?s properties are excellent for electronic devices, optical sources based on silicon are incapable of efficient, high-speed communication. Within the framework of the Materials Genome Initiative, this project will seek new materials and associated fabrication processes to overcome this hurdle. Recently it has been shown that MDC materials, such as molybdenum disulfide, can be grown in large-scale, high quality, atomically thin films on silicon dioxide substrates. Theoretically, it is predicted that such materials are semiconductors with a tunable, direct band gap that renders them far superior for optical communication applications than silicon. This research project intends to develop a theory-driven understanding of fabrication and control of such atomically-thin materials towards validating their use as on-chip light sources for future optical interconnects for integrated circuits. The PIs have an excellent track of record on promoting STEM activities within their respective institution. They intend to work with high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, and involve students from underrepresented groups in the planned research. The outreach activities proposed in this project are solid and will definitely have a broader societal impact.The goals of this project are to create a continuous knowledge link between atomistic material theory and chemical material synthesis of a variety of 2D metal dichalcogenidies and their alloys as a foundation for discovering, synthesizing, and accelerating the next generation of on-chip laser devices suitable for applications in telecommunication and data-processing. It builds on recent findings by the principal investigators such as strain-stabilization of different metaldichalcogenide phases, mm-scale growth of continuous single-layer molybdenum disulfide films, and loss management and demonstration of laser devices featuring optical mode sizes below the diffraction limit of light. The research collaborators will combine theoretical screening of a broad range of materials and predictive modeling of substrate stabilization of their structure, with development of growth methods for a diverse set of materials, and application-near functional evaluation on a waveguide tested. This project brings together an interdisciplinary set of methods ranging from analytical and numerical simulation, to chemical process development and the design and characterization of on-chip integrated laser devices. This vertical, theory-based integration of materials development methods realizes the goal of the Materials Genome Initiative. Success of this project will provide input to the field of functional 2D materials for years to come that will be instrumental in the development of novel photonic integrated circuits, and potentially sensors.