CAREER: Development of A Scalable Spin-Coating Technological Platform for Colloidal Self-Assembly and Templating Nanofabrication

光子晶体和等离子体是两项关键技术，将最终实现同位光集成电路和量子信息处理。不幸的是，这些技术的发展和实施受到昂贵和艰苦的自上而下的纳米制造（例如电子束光刻）的极大阻碍，这将可用的样品尺寸限制在1平方毫米以下。相比之下，自底向上的胶体自组装和模板纳米制造在制造高度有序的光子晶体和等离子体纳米结构方面提供了比纳米光刻更简单、更快、更便宜的选择。然而，传统的胶体自组装和模板方法存在吞吐量低、与标准微加工不兼容、晶体结构有限等问题，极大地阻碍了实际纳米光学器件的批量生产和片上集成。知识价值。本提案旨在开发一种强大的自旋涂层技术的理解和控制，该技术将自底向上自组装的简单性和成本效益与自顶向下微加工的可扩展性和兼容性相结合。这将使晶圆级光子晶体和各种功能亚波长结构材料的创建成为可能。研究计划有四个具体目标：(1)阐明了在自旋镀膜过程中不寻常的非紧密排列胶体晶体形成的基本结晶机制；(2)确定了剪切排列胶体光子晶体的光子带隙特性；(3)研究了模板化周期性金属纳米结构的表面等离子体特性，包括通过亚波长纳米孔阵列增强的光传输和纳米孔光栅表面增强的拉曼散射（SERS）。(4)开发用于高效太阳能电池的仿生亚波长结构增透涂层。提出的实验和理论研究将导致从全光集成电路到等离子体传感器到可持续能源等广泛领域的重大突破。提高对非均匀剪切流中流动诱导结晶和熔化的基本理解，这是一个很少或没有研究的主题。研究计划的创造性和原创性部分依赖于上述四个目标的整合。对基本机制的深入了解有助于更好地控制关键的晶体参数，以便在以后的物镜中定制光学特性。最重要的是，周期等离子体纳米结构和亚波长结构减反射涂层确实是二维光子晶体，因此可以使用与光子晶体相似的实验（光谱学）和建模（严格的耦合波分析）技术进行研究。把这些表面上不同但本质上相互联系的领域统一在一个保护伞下？旋转涂层平台可能会带来新的光学特性，这些特性从根本上和技术上都很有趣。更广泛的影响。与学生指导和课程开发活动相结合，紧密结合的教育计划侧重于发展几项外展活动，以教育K-12学生和教师以及公众纳米光学和自组装。佛罗里达自然历史博物馆的教育展览？年代?蝴蝶雨林中心？将用于传播大闪蝶翅膀上引人注目的蓝色和蝴蝶眼睛的抗反射特性的纳米光学机制，以及如何模仿这些天然光子晶体和使用胶体自组装的抗反射涂层。通过大学的几个成功项目，将寻求来自弱势群体的高中生直接参与研究项目，并通过与高中教师的合作，开发出辉煌的人造蛋白石的教育模块。从高密度磁记录到生物微分析，旋转涂层平台将推动许多其他领域的发展，这些领域依赖于大面积周期性纳米结构的创造，而这些领域没有被本提案所涵盖。综合教育计划将影响所有教育层次的学生。通过当地博物馆的推广工作，将现代纳米光学带给年轻学生和成年人，通过有趣的学习经验和高中学生参与研究计划，将使学生和他们的更大社区受益。与高中教师合作开发丰富多彩的示范模块，每年将以较低的年成本（1000美元）对数百名中学学生产生积极影响，并帮助该计划推广到佛罗里达州以外的地区。

0744879JiangPhotonic crystals and plasmonics are two key techniques that will ultimately enable alloptical integrated circuits and quantum information processing. Unfortunately, the development and implementation of these techniques have been greatly impeded by expensive and painstaking topdown nanofabrication (e.g., electron-beam lithography), which limit the available sample size to less than 1 mm2. By contrast, bottom-up colloidal self-assembly and templating nanofabrication provide a much simpler, faster, and inexpensive alternative to nanolithography in creating highly ordered photonic crystals and plasmonic nanostructures. However, the traditional colloidal self-assembly and templating approach suffers from low throughput, incompatibility with standard microfabrication, and limited crystal structures which greatly hamper the mass-production and on-chip integration of practical nanooptical devices.Intellectual Merit. This proposal aims to develop understanding and control of a robust spin-coating technology that combines the simplicity and cost benefits of bottom-up self-assembly with the scalability and compatibility of top-down microfabrication. This will enable the creation of wafer-scale photonic crystals and a large variety of functional subwavelength-structured materials. The research plan has four specific objectives: (1) elucidate the basic crystallization mechanisms by which unusual nonclose-packed colloidal crystals form during spin-coating, (2) determine the photonic band gap properties of shear-aligned colloidal photonic crystals, (3) investigate the surface plasmon properties of templated periodic metallic nanostructures, including enhanced optical transmission through subwavelength nanohole arrays and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) on nanovoid gratings, and (4) develop biomimetic subwavelength-structured antireflection coatings for high-efficiency solar cells. The proposed experimental and theoretical investigation will lead to significant breakthroughs in a wide spectrum of fields ranging from all-optical integrated circuits to plasmonic sensors to sustainable energy. Improved fundamental understanding of flow-induced crystallization and melting within non-uniform shear flows, a topic that has received little or no examination, will also result. The creative and original components of the research plan rely on the integration of the above four objectives. Insights gained into basic mechanisms facilitate better control over the crucial crystalline parameters for tailoring the optical properties in the later objectives. Most importantly, the periodic plasmonic nanostructures and subwavelength-structured antireflection coatings are indeed 2-D photonic crystals, and are thus studied with similar experimental (optical spectroscopy) and modeling (rigorous coupled-wave analysis) techniques as photonic crystals. The unification of these apparently different but intrinsically interconnected fields under one umbrella ? the spin-coating platform could lead to new optical features that are interesting fundamentally and technologically.Broader Impacts. In conjunction with student mentorship and curriculum development activities, the closely integrated educational plan focuses on developing several outreach activities to educate K-12 students and teachers as well as the general public on nanooptics and self-assembly. An educational display for the Florida Museum of Natural History?s ?Butterfly Rainforest Center? will be created to disseminate the nanooptical mechanisms of the striking blue colors of morpho butterfly wings and the antireflection properties of butterfly eyes, along with how to mimic these natural photonic crystals and antireflection coatings using colloidal self-assembly. Direct participation of high school students from underrepresented groups in the research program and development of educational modules on making brilliant artificial opals through collaboration with high school teachers will be sought through several successful programs at the university. The spin-coating platform will advance many other areas that depend on the creation of large-area periodic nanostructures not covered by this proposal, ranging from high-density magnetic recording to bio-microanalysis. The integrated educational program will impact students at all education levels. Outreach efforts through a local museum will bring modern nanooptics to young students and adults through a fun learning experience and participation of high school students in the research program will benefit the students and their larger communities. Collaborative efforts with high school teachers to develop colorful demonstration modules will favorably impact hundreds of students per year at the secondary level with a low annual cost ($1,000) and help the program to spread outside the State of Florida.