IMR: Acquisition of Optical Instrumentation for Determination of the Band Structure of Photonic and Phononic Crystals and Education of Students

该项目旨在构建两个光学仪器，以测量周期性聚合物材料的新颖光学和声学特性。 具体来说，麻省理工学院的科学家们对测量自组装嵌段共聚物和光聚合物中的光子和声子色散关系感兴趣，这些共聚物和光聚合物是通过使用高分辨率磁光旋转测量和布里渊光散射的3D干涉光刻技术创建的。这两种互补类型的测量共同依赖于共同的物理学（周期性介质中的波传播）。具体来说，研究人员将建造一个高分辨率的法拉第偏振旋转装置，包括一个电磁系统和一个光弹性调制器的磁光测量和购买布里渊光散射装置，包括一个法布里-珀罗干涉仪和雪崩光电探测器，使声子色散曲线进行测量。 这种实验装置的实现将使科学家们能够测试最近的建模研究的非常令人兴奋的预测，这些研究涉及在NSF资助DMR #0308133下进行的含有磁光纳米颗粒的1D手性光子晶体，并进一步研究最近在1D层状嵌段共聚物晶体和3D双连续立方网络晶体中的声子色散。科学家们发现了一种与机械性能的周期性变化有关的非色散光学模式，这清楚地表明了声子晶体的行为。光子晶体（可以引导光的传播，特别是反射某些颜色的材料）和声子晶体（可以引导声音的传播，特别是反射某些频率的材料）都是基础科学和潜在的技术上非常有趣的材料。 在这个项目中，麻省理工学院的科学家们将开发两种相关的仪器来对这些有趣的现象进行新的测量。 周期性材料中电磁波（光）或弹性波（声）之间的相互作用可能令人惊讶和有用。 研究人员将制作适当的图案化聚合物晶体，使用完善的理论建模/模拟其特性，并使用新获得的仪器访问从未测量过的数据，以与理论进行关键比较，并对潜在的革命性新设备进行基本洞察：超薄棱镜，以传播白色光的颜色和开放结构，人们可以看到但听不到。

This project is aimed at constructing two optical instruments in order to measure novel optical and acoustic properties of periodic polymeric materials. Specifically scientists at the MIT are interested in measuring both photonic and phononic dispersion relationships in self assembled block copolymers and photopolymers created by 3d interference lithography using high resolution magnetooptical rotation measurements and Brillouin light scattering. These two complementary types of measurement jointly rely on common physics (wave propagation in periodic media). Specifically the researchers will construct a high resolution Faraday polarization rotation apparatus comprised of an electromagnet system and a photoelastic modulator for the magnetooptical measurements and purchase a Brillouin light scattering apparatus, consisting of a Fabry-Perot interferometer and avalanche photodetector to enable the phononic dispersion curves to be measured. The realization of such experimental setups will enable scientists to test very exciting predictions of recent modeling studies conducted concerning 1D chiral photonic crystals containing magnetooptical nanoparticles being performed under NSF grant DMR#0308133 and to further recent work on phonon dispersion in 1D lamellar block copolymer crystals and 3d bicontinuous cubic network crystals made via interference lithography. The scientists have found a nondispersive optic-like mode related to the periodic variations in the mechanical properties, a clear indication of the behavior of a phononic crystal. Photonic crystals (materials that can guide the propagation of light, and in particular reflect certain colors) and phononic crystals (materials that can guide the propagation of sound, and in particular, reflect certain frequencies) both present basic scientific and potentially very technologically interesting materials. In this project scientsists at MIT will develop two related instruments to make new measurements of these interesting phenomena. Interactions between electromagnetic waves (light) or elastic waves (sound) in periodic materials can be surprising and useful. The researchers will make appropriate patterned polymeric crystals, model/simulate their properties using well developed theories and use the newly acquired instruments to access never before measured data for critical comparison to theory and for fundamental insight into to potentially revolutionary new devices: super thin prisms to spread out the colors of white light and open structures that one can see through but not hear through.