Flexible Silicon Photonics on Plastic Substrates

总结：本研究的目的是展示一种新的灵活形式的硅光子集成在塑料基板上，使用键合和转移方法。新型硅基塑料光子学结合了硅器件的高性能和塑料材料的灵活性。薄膜形式及其机械顺应性将使这种非常规形式的光子器件能够机械调谐并用作光机械传感器。此外，塑料基板为无源硅器件与有源非硅器件的异质集成提供了一个通用平台。知识产权：尽管对柔性电子进行了广泛的研究，但集成光子学的柔性形式尚未得到广泛探索。拟议的研究将展示塑料基板上的高度集成硅光子器件，具有前所未有的灵活性，可调性和兼容性。柔性光子学与微电子学的集成将产生一个多功能的软格式光电系统，导致从光通信到基础计量和机械测量领域的变革性进步。更广泛的影响：该项目将通过提供一种新型的柔性和保形的光学传感器来影响工业和科学界。 教育和外联活动将鼓励高中学生从事科学和工程职业，并招募少数民族学生参加研究。与明尼苏达科学博物馆合作，一系列光学科学的实验演示（名为？《奇妙的光》（The Light Fantastic？将在Nanodays活动期间提出，以促进公众对纳米科学，工程和技术的认识，参与和理解。

Summary: The objective of this research is to demonstrate a new flexible form of silicon photonics integrated on plastic substrates, using a bond-and-transfer method. The new silicon-on-plastic photonics combines the high performance of silicon devices and the flexibility of plastic materials. The thin film format and its mechanical compliance will enable this unconventional form of photonic devices to be mechanically tunable and to be applied as optomechanical sensors. Furthermore, the plastic substrate provides a versatile platform for heterogeneous integration of passive silicon devices with active, non-silicon devices Intellectual Merit: Despite extensive research in flexible electronics, flexible form of integrated photonics has not been widely explored. The proposed research will demonstrate highly integrated silicon photonic devices on plastic substrates with unprecedented flexibility, tunability and compatibility. Integration of flexible photonics with microelectronics will yield a multifunctional optoelectronic system in a soft format, leading to transformative advances in areas ranging from optical communication to fundamental metrology and mechanical measurement.Broader Impact: The project will impact industry and the scientific community by providing a new class of optical sensors that is flexible and conformal. The education and outreach activities will encourage high-schools students to pursue a career in science and engineering and recruit minority students to participate in research. In collaboration with the Science Museum of Minnesota, a series of experimental demonstrations of optical science (named ?The Light Fantastic?) will be presented during the Nanodays events to foster public awareness, engagement and understanding of nanoscale science, engineering and technology.