SNM: Scalable Nanomanufacturing of Metasurfaces & Plasmonic Opto-Mechanical Systems

纳米结构与亚波长大小的金属构件排列在表面操纵光物质相互作用。这些纳米工程材料基本上为控制光的一种新的工程方法奠定了基础，并为传统光学无法实现的新型功能器件铺平了道路，这些器件的应用包括传感、能源、成像和光引导。然而，缺乏大规模和低成本生产这些纳米架构的可扩展性限制了影响。这个可扩展纳米制造（SNM）研究项目将提供颠覆性的制造解决方案，以创建嵌入微米级表面的纳米架构，以促进可扩展制造的突破。研究人员将与工业顾问委员会密切合作，为广泛的技术领域量身定制科学研究，包括医疗和工业诊断系统，光通信以及实现可扩展纳米制造目标所需的精密制造设备。该研究项目与多样化的教育计划和强大的行业外展紧密结合，旨在培养学生（高中到研究生水平，STEM教育者/学习者和行业从业者）成为未来的科技领导者，以促进创新和加强美国的制造业。该计划包括与加州大学欧文分校教育学院合作制作电影和演示，“从实验室到课程计划”，培训数学工程科学成就（MESA）计划的高中教师，该计划为科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）中代表性不足的学生提供服务。本科生将从路易斯·斯托克斯少数族裔参与STEM项目中招募，这是一项由美国国家科学基金会（National Science Foundation）资助的全州倡议，旨在培养不同群体的学生从事高级研究活动。为研究生提供基础科学和工程以及技术应用和科学传播方面的跨学科培训。协同实验和理论研究包括理解将纳米颗粒从胶体溶液直接组装成预定表面图案的驱动力，使用机电纺丝技术直接书写周期和非周期纳米线排列的物理机制，以及过程控制所需的精度。当这些研究与现有的光刻技术相结合时，将使用高通量制造方法生产出多长度尺度的复杂架构，这些制造方法在红外和光学频率下提供可调特性，同时保持低成本。这些系统的测试平台应用包括在大范围内显示低检测极限的传感器、非线性光学器件、光学天线和致动器，以展示技术应用的好处。研究领域的进步将有三个方面：1)对纳米制造基本机制的研究将使研究人员能够构思出新的、强大的纳米制造方法，这将有利于光学以外的研究；2)对光学响应表面和光机械系统开发中的缺陷容限的理解将为纳米制造中的几何容限提供指导；3)对多长度尺度电磁相互作用物理机制的新见解将提高对新型光-物质相互作用的理解，并为未来的光学器件提供改进的功能。

Nanoarchitectures with subwavelength-sized metallic building blocks arranged on surfaces manipulate light matter interactions. These nanoengineered materials basically lay the foundation for a new, engineered way of controlling light, and pave the way for novel functional devices, unattainable with conventional optics benefitting applications including sensing, energy, imaging, and light guiding. Yet the lack of scalability for large-scale and low-cost production of these nanoarchitectures limits impact. This Scalable NanoManufacturing (SNM) research program will provide disruptive manufacturing solutions to create nanoarchitectures embedded in micron scale surface to foster a breakthrough in scalable fabrication. The investigators will work closely with an industrial advisory board to tailor research that addresses scientific studies to the benefit of a broad range of technology sectors that includes medical and industrial diagnostic systems to optical communications as well as the precision manufacturing equipment needed to achieve the goal of scalable nanomanufacturing. The research program is closely integrated with a diverse educational plan and robust industry outreach that is designed to train students (high school to graduate level, STEM educators/learners and industry practitioners) to be future leaders in science and technology to benefit innovation and strengthen manufacturing in the United States. This plan includes creation of movies and demonstrations in collaboration with the UC Irvine School of Education "From Lab to Lesson Plan" that train high school teachers from the Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program serving underrepresented students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Undergraduate students will be recruited from The Louis Stokes for Minority Participation in STEM, a statewide initiative funded by the National Science Foundation, to train a diverse group of students in advanced research activities. Interdisciplinary training will be provided for graduate students involving fundamental science and engineering as well as technological applications and scientific communication.Synergistic experimental and theoretical studies involve understanding driving forces that direct assembly of nanoparticles from colloidal solution into predefined surface patterns, physical mechanisms of direct writing of periodic and aperiodic nanowire arrangements using elecromechanical spinning technology, and needed precision in process control. These studies when integrated with existing lithographic techniques will produce multi-length scale complex architectures using high throughput manufacturing methods that afford tunable properties at infrared and optical frequencies while retaining low cost. Test bed applications of these systems include sensors exhibiting low detection limits over large areas, non-linear optical devices, and optical antennas and actuators to demonstrate the benefit to technological applications. Advancements to the research field will be threefold: 1) studies of fundamental mechanisms in nanofabrication will allow researchers to conceive new and robust nanofabrication methods that will benefit research beyond optics, 2) the understanding of defect tolerance in the development of optically responsive surfaces and optomechanical systems will provide guidelines for geometric tolerances in nanomanufacturing, and 3) new insights into the physical mechanism of multi-length scale electromagnetic interactions will improve understanding of novel light-matter interactions and produce improved functionalities for future optical devices.