Algorithmic Fabrication of Nanophotonic Structures

本文的建议是资助创建一个系统来执行纳米光子结构的原位表征和制造。这些将用于提高性能，甚至为光电设备带来新的功能，包括光伏太阳能电池，智能手机和自动驾驶汽车的光电探测器和成像传感器，以及量子计算应用的单光子发射器。这台仪器将是我实验室在研究设备上的第一笔投资，并将使我的团队能够开始在这些关键应用方面的开创性实验工作。该系统特别用于光电应用的纳米光子结构（利用光的波动性质的结构）的算法制造。这是通过将多光子聚合光刻系统与高分辨率激光显微镜设置结合在一台仪器中来实现的，允许系统自动写入和复制由设计算法开发的结构。选择聚合物材料以最大化曝光（固体）和未曝光（液体）状态之间的折射率对比度，以实现表征而无需移除样品进行显影。因此，所写材料的表征可以用于在制造期间提供反馈，或者通过控制算法来影响后续结构的设计，从而允许实验性地执行迭代设计。因此，这将允许算法设计过程的物理表现，到目前为止，这些过程只能通过模拟来执行。除了原位表征和自动化设计过程之外，该仪器还被配置为在我的研究中探索的结构和设备的多光子光刻和激光表征中实现最先进的性能。这包括无掩模2D光刻技术; 3D纳米光刻;荧光，激光和双光子显微镜;以及超分辨率光活化显微镜。这些都是我在美国和荷兰的博士和博士后工作中开发或大量使用的技术，我很高兴能把这些技术带到我在加拿大的研究项目中。据我所知，目前世界上还没有一个系统能将这里研究的算法制造过程所需的这套独特技术结合起来。这是一个很好的机会，可以向我实验室的HQP，我们合作者的实验室，以及世界各地的其他团体展示纳米制造业的自动化如何在科学研究领域具有革命性意义。此外，目前还不存在任何系统，因为西方大学目前能够执行我的研究计划所调查的结构的制造。因此，这台仪器不仅将启动一个新的纳米科学设计过程进行探索，但将使我的整个实验研究计划的开始。

The proposal herein is to fund the creation of a system to perform in situ characterisation and fabrication of nanophotonic structures. These will be used to improve performance and even bring new functionality to optoelectronic devices, including photovoltaic solar cells, photodetector and imaging sensors for smartphones and autonomous vehicles, and single photon emitters for quantum computing applications. This instrument would represent the first investment in research equipment in my lab, and would enable my group to begin ground-breaking experimental work in these critical applications.******The system specifically would be used for the algorithmic fabrication of nanophotonic structures (structures that utilize the wave-nature of light) for optoelectronic applications. This is achieved by combining a multi-photon polymerisation lithography system with a high-resolution laser microscopy setup in a single instrument, allowing the system to automatically write and characterise structures developed by a design algorithm. The polymer material is chosen to maximise the index contrast between the exposed (solid) and unexposed (liquid) states to enable characterisation without the need to remove the sample for development. The characterisation of the written material can thus be used to provide feedback during fabrication, or by the control algorithm to influence the design of the following structure, thereby allowing iterative design to be performed experimentally. This would thereby allow a physical manifestation of the algorithmic design processes that so far have only ever been performed through simulations.******Beyond the in situ characterisation and automated design process, the instrument is configured to achieve state-of-the-art performance in multi-photon lithography and laser characterisation of the structures and devices explored in my research. This includes techniques of maskless 2D lithography; 3D nanolithography; fluorescence, laser, and two-photon microscopy; as well as super-resolution photo activation microscopy. These are all techniques that I have either developed or used heavily in my PhD and postdoctoral work in the US and the Netherlands, and am excited to bring these into my own research program here in Canada.******To my knowledge, no system currently exists in the world that combines this unique set of techniques necessary for the algorithmic fabrication process investigated here. This is an excellent opportunity to both demonstrate to HQP in my lab, our collaborators' labs, as well as other groups around the world how automation in nanofabrication can be revolutionary in the realm of scientific research. Furthermore, there does not yet exist any system as Western University currently able to perform the fabrication of the structures investigated by my research plan. This instrument would thus not only initiate a novel nanoscience design process to explored, but would enable the commencement of my entire experimental research program.