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

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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.