I-Corps: Quantum Wires and Dots for Optoelectronic Devices

由于用于制造业的激光焊机和金属3D打印机的普及，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灯泡能更有效地将电转化为光，那么在使用同样的能量时，它们会更亮。演示将基于新型纳米结构：量子线。目前最先进的led和二极管激光器是基于量子阱的概念，尽管基于更小的纳米结构（如量子线）的设备预计会有更高的效率。该团队进行的初步研究结果为制造高质量量子线及其随后用于高效率led和激光器提供了一条新途径。由于激光引起的缺陷，用激光直接修饰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，高功率激光脉冲照射III-V半导体已经知道会引起损伤。然而，高功率激光脉冲照射GaAs（001）表面的初步数据表明，激光产生的纳米级特征，如果小于100 nm，当激光脉冲的干涉照射在表面上产生瞬态热光栅时，不会产生化学损伤。为了实现光电器件效率的全面提高，优质纳米结构作为光电器件增益介质的论证具有重要的意义，因为它可以应用于其他材料体系。如果成功，开发的直接激光制造技术将用于实现基于新型量子线的概念验证二极管激光器。

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.