CAREER: Three-Dimensional Multi-Scale Metallodielectric Materials

该奖项由材料研究部门的电子材料项目和化学部门的实验物理化学项目共同资助。技术方面：该项目研究三维金属介电超材料，采用多光子直接激光写入，然后通过纳米颗粒结合和/或化学镀在支架表面进行金属化。使用多光子直接激光写入，几乎任何微米级几何形状的聚合物3D晶格都可以在单个照相图案化步骤中创建。单个纳米颗粒、纳米颗粒团簇或连续的金属可以均匀地沉积在晶格上，从而控制金属的纳米级形态。该研究的目标是调查和学习控制与制备3D光学金属介电材料相关的加工、沉积和生长现象，并开发将这些材料的纳米和微米级结构与其电磁特性和器件性能联系起来的预测能力，从而实现新的应用，其中可能包括宽带电磁滤波和隐形；sub-wavelength聚焦;超小型高效激光；以及低强度的全光开关。非技术领域：本项目涉及材料科学、化学、纳米技术和光学等领域的基础研究课题，具有较高的技术相关性，有望为三维超材料的制备提供灵活的新途径，这些超材料具有超宽等离子体带隙、光磁性、外部修饰吸收/发射和负折射率等迷人的光学特性。技术项目通过PI的课堂教学与教育相结合；研究培训;以及旨在吸引初高中和社区大学学生从事科学和技术职业的点对点推广活动。这项研究有望为外展计划和PI的教学带来令人兴奋的内容。通过与奥兰治公司公立学校、瓦伦西亚社区学院和塞米诺尔社区学院的合作，这项外展活动有可能影响佛罗里达州中部多民族的大量年轻人。该项目还将为研究生和本科生的跨学科培训提供一个极好的环境。

This CAREER award is co-funded by the Electronic Materials Program in the Division of Materials Research and the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program in the Chemistry Division.Technical: The project is to study three-dimensional (3D) metallodielectric metamaterials, which are fabricated using multiphoton direct laser writing, followed by metallization by nanoparticles binding and/or electrolessly plating of the scaffold surface. Using multiphoton direct laser writing, polymeric 3D lattices having virtually any micrometer-scale geometry can be created in a single photo-patterning step. Single nanoparticles, nanoparticles clusters, or continuous metal can then be deposited conformably onto the lattice, providing control over the metal nano-scale morphology. The objectives of the research are to investigate and learn to control processing, deposition, and growth phenomena relevant to preparing 3D optical metallodielectric materials and to develop predictive capabilities that relate the resulting nanometer- and micrometer-scale structures of these materials to their electromagnetic properties and device performance, thereby enabling new applications, which may include broad-band electromagnetic filtering and cloaking; sub-wavelength focusing; ultra-small and high-efficiency lasing; and low-intensity, all-optical switching.Non-technical: The project addresses basic research issues in a topical area of materials science, chemistry, nanotechnology, and optics with high technological relevance, and is expected to provide a flexible new route to fabricate three-dimensional metamaterials, which exhibit fascinating optical properties, such as ultra-wide plasmonic band gaps, optical magnetism, extrinsically modified absorption/emission, and negative refractive index. The technical project is integrated with education via the PI's classroom teaching; research training; and a peer-to-peer outreach designed to attract middle-school, high-school, and community-college students to science and technical careers. The research is expected to generate exciting content for the outreach program and the PI's teaching. The outreach has the potential to impact a large number of youths across multi-ethnic Central Florida through partnerships with Orange Co. Public Schools, Valencia Community College, and Seminole Community College. The project will also provide a superb context for interdisciplinary training of graduate and undergraduate students.