Atomic Layer Deposition for Large-Area Sub-10 Nanometer Patterning for Super Absorbing Optical Devices

纳米制造是许多应用领域的重要推动力，包括纳米材料、纳米电子学和纳米光子学。在过去的几十年里，我们见证了纳米制造能力的重大进步。不同的预先设计的图案，低至纳米尺度可以使用各种自顶向下和自底向上的方法制造。然而，使用传统的制造技术在大范围内制造出亚10纳米特征的纳米结构仍然是一个巨大的挑战。这种小型结构是开发新应用所必需的。利用纳米级天线结构，局部光场增强或“热点”成为可能。金属纳米图案之间较小的间隙将导致更强的“热点”。因此，一种具有亚10纳米特征的大面积纳米图案的经济实惠的制造方法是非常需要的。该奖项将采用原子层沉积工艺来开发一种廉价的纳米制造方法，以制造具有精确控制间隙的表面纳米图案，可以有效地将光场集中到10纳米以下的大面积尺度。这种跨学科的努力将纳米制造、计算电磁学、光电子学和光传感联系起来，并将为学生提供一个很好的机会，培养在全球市场上取得成功所必需的技能、价值观和广阔的视野，并在复杂的多学科项目中发挥领导作用。基于最近在使用纳米结构的光管理方面的成功，该奖项将探索使用这种新的纳米制造方法制造具有可控、超窄（低于10nm）间隙的超吸收超材料表面结构或超表面的潜力。具体来说，该奖项将探索经济实惠的制造工艺，以生产具有可控制的分离距离的金属纳米图案，该距离由原子层沉积（ALD）介电薄膜定义，厚度精度为~0.1nm。这种能力将导致极深亚波长尺度上光-物质相互作用的革命性进展。结合预先设计的超材料腔结构，入射光可以有效地捕获在纳米间隙内，从而产生强增强的局部场。通过控制纳米图形的几何参数，特别是间隙尺寸，可以接近等离子体增强的极限，并方便地在大面积上进行表征。在这个项目中，ald定义的薄膜将与周期性和随机纳米模式相结合，以制造大面积超吸收超表面，这将使新型芯片上能量收集、转换和生物传感应用的发展成为可能。

Nanomanufacturing is an important driving force for many applications, including nanomaterials, nanoelectronics, and nanophotonics. In the past decades, we have witnessed significant advances in nanomanufacturing capabilities. Different pre-designed patterns down to nanometer scale can be fabricated using various top-down and bottom-up methods. However, it is still a great challenge to manufacture nanostructures with sub-10 nanometer features over large areas using conventional fabrication techniques. Such small-scale structures are needed for the development of new applications. Using nano-scale antenna structures, localized optical field enhancements or 'hot-spots' are possible. Smaller gaps between the metallic nanopatterns will result in stronger 'hot spots'. Therefore, an affordable manufacturing method for large-area nanopatterning with sub-10 nanometer features is highly desirable. This award will employ the atomic layer deposition process to develop an inexpensive nanomanufacturing method to fabricate surface nanopatterns with accurately controlled gaps that can efficiently concentrate light field down to sub-10 nanometer scales over large areas. This interdisciplinary effort will link nanomanufacturing, computational electromagnetics, optoelectronics and optical sensing, and will provide a great opportunity for students to develop skills, values, and broad perspectives necessary for success in the global marketplace and for leadership in complex, multidisciplinary projects.Building on recent successes in light management using nanostructures, this award will explore the potential to use this new nanomanufacturing method to fabricate super absorbing metamaterial surface structures or metasurfaces with controllable, ultra-narrow (sub-10nm) gaps. Specifically, this award will explore affordable fabrication processes to produce metallic nanopatterns with controllable separation distances defined by atomic layer deposited (ALD) dielectric films with the thickness accuracy of ~0.1nm. Such a capability will result in revolutionary advances in light-matter interactions at extremely deep subwavelength scales. Combined with pre-designed metamaterial cavity structures, incident light can be trapped within the nanogaps efficiently, resulting in a strongly enhanced localized field. By controlling the geometric parameters of nanopatterns, especially the gap dimension, the ultimate limit for plasmonic enhancement may be approached and be characterized conveniently over large areas. In this project, ALD-defined films will be combined with periodic and random nanopatterns to manufacture large area super absorbing metasurfaces, which will enable the development of novel on-chip energy collection, conversion and biosensing applications.