I-Corps: Quantum Wires and Dots for Optoelectronic Devices

由于激光焊接机在制造业和金属3D打印机中的普及，高功率激光器市场正在爆炸式增长。该项目旨在展示发光二极管（LED）和二极管激光器的高电光转换效率。如果LED灯泡在将电转化为光方面更有效，那么在使用相同的能量时，它们将更亮。演示将基于新型纳米结构：量子线。当前最先进的LED和二极管激光器基于量子威尔斯的概念，尽管已经预测基于诸如量子线的较小纳米结构的器件具有更高的效率。该团队进行的工作的初步结果提出了一种制造高质量量子线的新途径，以及它们随后用于高效LED和激光器的用途。由于激光诱导的缺陷，通过直接激光改性表面来制造高质量的纳米结构一直被认为是有问题的，特别是自1980年以来已知在III-V族半导体上照射高功率激光脉冲会诱导损伤。然而，来自由高功率激光脉冲照射的GaAs（001）表面的初步数据表明，当激光脉冲的干涉照射在表面上产生瞬态热光栅时，如果小于100 nm，则激光产生的纳米级特征不受化学损伤。高质量的纳米结构作为光电器件的增益介质的示范是非常重要的，因为它适用于其他材料系统，以迎来光电器件的全面效率提高。如果成功的话，开发的直接激光制造技术将用于实现概念验证，基于新型量子线的二极管激光器。

The market for high power lasers is exploding due to the popularity of laser welders for manufacturing and metal 3D printers. This project aims to demonstrate high electricity-to-light conversion efficiency for light emitting diodes (LED) and diode lasers. LED lighting bulbs will be brighter at the same energy used if they are more efficient in converting electricity into light. The demonstration will be based on novel nanostructures: quantum wires. Current state-of-the-art LEDs and diode lasers are based on the concept of quantum wells, even though higher efficiencies have been predicted from devices based on smaller nanostructures such as quantum wires. Preliminary results from the work conducted by this team suggest a novel route to fabricate quality quantum wires and their subsequent uses for high efficiency LEDs and lasers. Fabrication of quality nanostructures by direct laser modification of surfaces has been regarded problematic due to laser induced defects, especially irradiation of high power laser pulses on III-V semiconductors has been known to induce damages since 1980. However, preliminary data from GaAs(001) surfaces that are irradiated by high power laser pulses suggest that the laser produced nanoscale features, if smaller than 100 nm, are free from chemical damages when the interferential irradiation of laser pulses creates transient thermal gratings on the surfaces. The demonstration of quality nanostructures as gain media for optoelectronic devices is fundamentally important because it is applicable to other material systems in order to usher the across-the-board efficiency increase for optoelectronic devices. If successful, developed direct laser fabrication techniques will be employed to realize proof-of-concept, diode lasers that are based on novel quantum wires.