NIRT: 3D Hierarchical Nanomanufacturing for Active Photonics-on-chip

这个纳米级跨学科研究（NIRT）项目的目标是在纳米制造领域建立一个跨学科的研究和教育计划，用于制造有源光子芯片，其中光学特性可以通过光学，磁性或电光控制。几种方法将结合起来，使光子带隙晶体和有源光子器件的制造。压印光刻将被用来创建二维光子晶体，其中包含用于创建激光源腔的点缺陷和用于平面波导的线缺陷。利用多光束全息光刻技术，所有光束都来自同一个半空间，可以制作出三维光子晶体。双光子立体光刻将用于制造三维光子晶体内部的缺陷，用于光学加工。二维和三维光子带隙晶体将被杂化，形成含有工程缺陷的光子带隙异质结构，从而实现光路中光的产生、光子传播和光子信号处理的主动控制。如果这些技术成功，今天的硅电子学的经济性和规模化可以延续到明天的硅光子学中。总的来说，这些技术可以使光学电路制造在商业上可行，并有助于美国在光子技术方面的全球竞争力。得克萨斯大学泛美分校（UTPA）是一所少数民族大学，在授予西班牙裔学士学位的数量上排名全国第二。通过这个合作项目，UTPA的教授和学生可以访问德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的独特设施，这是德克萨斯州排名最高，设备最好的大学之一。这项研究将为西班牙裔学生提供一个从事多学科研究和攻读高级学位的绝佳机会，增加代表性不足的科学家的数量。

The objective of this Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research (NIRT) project is to establish an interdisciplinary research and education program in the area of nanomanufacturing for the fabrication of active photonics-on-chip where optical properties can be controlled either optically, magnetically or electro-optically. Several approaches will be combined to enable fabrication of photonic bandgap crystals and active photonic devices. Imprint lithography will be employed to create two-dimensional photonic crystals containing point defects for creation of the cavity of laser sources and line defects for planar waveguides. Three-dimensional photonic crystals will be fabricated through multi-beam holographic lithographic techniques in which all beams come from the same half-space. Two-photon stereolithography will then be used to fabricate defects inside the three-dimensional photonic crystal for optical processing. The two-dimensional and three-dimensional photonic bandgap crystals will be hybridized to form a photonic band gap heterostructure containing engineered defects, which enables active control of light generation, photon propagation, and photon signal processing in optical circuits.If these technologies are successful, the economies and scaling of today's silicon electronics can be carried forward into tomorrow's silicon photonics. Overall, these technologies can make optical circuit manufacturing commercially feasible and contribute to the United States' global competitiveness in photonics technology. University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) is a minority university which is second in the nation in the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to Hispanics. Through this collaborative project, UTPA professors and students can access the unique facilities at the University of Texas at Austin, one of the top-ranked and best-equipped Universities in Texas. The research will offer an excellent opportunity for Hispanic students to engage in multi-disciplinary research and to pursue advanced degrees, increasing the number of under-represented scientists.