Analysis and design of novel photon-electron-interaction nanodevices for emerging applications

这项研究计划旨在开发具有片上放大功能的下一代颠覆性纳米级光子器件，应用于电信(交换)、生物医学(传感)、能源(太阳能收集)、信息(信号处理)以及其他新兴技术、商业和消费领域。其目标是为具有内置光电增益能力的纳米光子功能元件建立理论、实验和技术平台，以便以超高速控制和操纵光子。 提出的研究将解决光电相互作用效应的理论、实验和应用及其在纳米级光子器件中的开发的挑战性问题。这项研究将集中在理解通过从固态材料中运动的自由电子中提取能量并利用非线性和等离子体相互作用来获得光学放大的概念。 这些研究将围绕光子在电子环境中的行为展开，重点是如何在利用光电子材料的结构特性的同时，使光波和含电子介质在光电子材料内进行活跃的相互作用。硅和其他半导体材料，如石墨烯将被研究。 将研究在技术上兼容并可集成到通用半导体平台上的通用有源纳米光子元件，以便在特定应用的纳米体系结构中实现光子-电子功能。 目标的一个组成部分是在太赫兹和光学区域的纳米光子器件的计算机辅助建模、模拟和结构设计方面培训高素质的工作准备人员，在制造的样品的表征和测试方面，以及在与工业伙伴的密切合作以获得实践经验方面。 这项研究将把我们的理论、建模、模拟和设计结果转化为新型先进的纳光子器件，具有预期的卓越性能参数，如芯片内置放大/损耗补偿、超高操作速度、健壮的传感和能源效率。这将导致重大创新，从而有助于纳米光子集成组件的进一步发展。我们计划中的光子-电子相互作用研究将发现新的知识。它将对光子学及其在许多其他领域的广泛应用产生长期的影响，如应用数学、物理、电信、医疗数据的传感和分析、信息处理、工程、国防等新兴应用领域。接受过拟议研究培训的学生将在纳米技术和纳米光子学的一般领域拥有独特的技能。这将使他们为工作做好准备，并具有很高的就业能力，同时能够为加拿大经济财富的进一步发展做出积极贡献。

This research program aims at developing the next generation of disruptive nanoscale photonic devices with on-chip amplification for applications in telecommunications (switching), biomedicine (sensing), energy (solar harvesting), information (signal processing), and other emerging technological, commercial, and consumer areas. The objectives are to establish theoretical, experimental, and technological platforms for nanophotonic functional elements with built-in optoelectronic gain capabilities in order to control and manipulate photons at ultra-high speeds. The proposed research will address the challenging issues of the theory, experiment and applications of optoelectronic interaction effects and their exploitation in photonic devices at the nanoscale. The research will concentrate on understanding concepts of obtaining optical amplification via extracting the energy from moving free electrons in solid-state materials, and exploiting nonlinearities and plasmonic interactions. The investigations will centre around the behaviour of photons in the electrons' environment with a focus on the means of bringing optical waves and electron-containing media into active interactions within optoelectronic materials while using their structural properties. Silicon, and other semiconductor materials such as graphene will be studied. Generic active nanophotonic elements will be investigated that are technologically compatible and integrable onto a common semiconductor platform for photon-electron functionalities implemented in application-specific nanoarchitectures. An integral part of the objectives is training highly qualified job-ready personnel in computer-aided modelling, simulations, and structure design of nanophotonic devices in terahertz and optical regions, in characterization and testing of fabricated samples, and in working closely with industrial partners to acquire practical experience. The research will transform our theoretical, modelling, simulation and design results into novel advanced nanophotonic devices with expected superb performance parameters such as on-chip built-in amplification/loss compensation, ultra-high operation speeds, robust sensing, and energy efficiency. This will lead to significant innovation thus contributing to further development of nanophotonic integrated components. New knowledge will be discovered from our planned studies of photon-electron interactions. It will lead to a long-term impact on photonics and its broad applications in many other areas such applied mathematics, physics, telecommunications, sensing and analysis of medical data, information processing, engineering, defense, and other emerging application areas. Students trained in the proposed research will be graduating with unique skills in the general area of nanotechnology and nanophotonics. This will make them job-ready and highly employable while being able to contribute actively to the further development of economic wealth of Canada.