Equipment for developing advanced nanophotonic devices for applications in green fibre network. photovoltaics, solid state lighting, and quantum computing

最近，新一代的纳米材料，与使用III族氮化物和III族锑化物纳米异质结构，已被深入研究。III族氮化物是唯一的半导体，其能带隙范围从UV（~ 6.2 eV）到近红外（~ 0.7 eV），可以几乎完美地匹配太阳光谱，而III族锑化物是唯一的半导体，在中红外波长范围内具有带间跃迁。因此，基于III-氮化物和III-锑化物的纳米级半导体已经成为许多先进纳米光子器件的选择材料，包括激光器、LED、太阳能电池、单光子源和光电晶体管，在固态照明、太阳能收集、红外光电子学和未来量子计算中具有关键应用。在这种情况下，麦吉尔大学的一组研究人员，舍布鲁克大学、纽芬兰纪念大学和西安大略大学已经启动了一系列以氮化物和锑化物为基础的纳米光子器件为中心的研究项目。这些研究工作，包括20多个资助的研究项目和10多个新项目，部分归功于Z教授最近建立的独特的GaN分子束外延（MBE）生长设施。虽然我们的联合研究项目取得了巨大进展，但人们也认识到，为了实现极具前景的氮化物纳米材料的全部潜力，必须在现有的MBE系统中安装锑渗出池，它可以作为表面活性剂，因此，可以显著地改善材料质量并增强所得器件和系统的性能。更重要的是，在氮化物MBE系统中使用锑源，这是世界上第一个此类系统，将为开发技术上重要的近红外和中红外纳米光子器件提供新的维度，这些器件与未来的计算系统以及环境，生物和气体传感器有关。因此，拟议的设备将大大推进研究进展和加拿大4所大学14个研究小组的40多名学生和博士后的培训。

Recently, a new generation of nanoscale materials, with the use of group III-nitride and III-antimonide nanoscale heterostructures, has been intensively investigated. III-nitrides are the only semiconductors whose energy bandgap, ranging from UV (~ 6.2 eV) to near-infrared (~ 0.7 eV), can match nearly perfectly to the solar spectrum, while III-antimonides are the only semiconductors with the interband transition in the mid-infrared wavelength range. Consequently, III-nitrides and III-antimonide based nanoscale semiconductors have emerged as the materials of choice for a host of advanced nanophotonic devices, including lasers, LEDs, solar cells, single photon source, and phototransistors, with critical applications in solid state lighting, solar energy harvesting, infrared optoelectronics, and future quantum computing. In this context, a group of researchers at McGill Univ., Univ. de Sherbrooke, Memorial Univ. of Newfoundland, and Univ. of Western Ontario have initiated a range of research projects centered on nitride- and antimonide-based nanophotonic devices. These research efforts, including more than 20 funded research projects and well over 10 new initiatives, have been made possible, in part, by the unique GaN molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth facility recently established by Prof. Z. Mi at McGill Univ. While tremendous progress has been made in our joint research projects, it has also been recognized that, in order to realize the full potential of the highly promising nitride nanomaterials, it is essential to install an antimony effusion cell in the existing MBE system, which can serve as a surfactant and, therefore, can significantly improve the materials quality and enhance the performance of the resulting devices and systems. More importantly, the use of an antimony source in a nitride MBE system, the first of its kind in the world, will provide a new dimension for developing the technologically important near- and mid-infrared nanophotonic devices that are relevant to future computing systems and to environmental, bio, and gas sensors. Consequently, the proposed equipment will significantly advance the research progress and training of more than 40 students and postdocs in over 14 research groups at 4 universities across Canada.