GOALI: Nano-Machining of Diamond Mirror for High-Power Laser Optics

虽然微加工技术的突破已经允许在单个集成电路上集成数十亿个晶体管，但对更大计算能力的需求需要更密集的芯片和更小的晶体管。极紫外光刻技术已经成为实现这一目标的领先技术。然而，它的性能受到可以产生的紫外光量的限制。这些系统中使用的光学反射镜不能承受极高的光强，经常失效，从而限制了系统的可靠性，增加了生产成本。这项学术与工业联络资助机会（GOALI）奖解决了对更好的镜子的需求，并开发了一种新的纳米制造技术，该技术允许在钻石中制造光学元件。这很有挑战性，因为钻石是最难成型的材料之一。该团队利用材料科学，纳米加工，光学和激光物理方面的专业知识来克服这些挑战，并开发出一种新颖且可扩展的纳米制造技术。这个项目有可能改变芯片的制造方式，由于微芯片在日常生活中无处不在，它具有巨大的经济和社会影响。除了半导体行业，纳米加工金刚石组件对许多使用高功率激光器的技术有广泛而直接的影响，包括国防、医药和汽车工业。该团队的发现通过与科学博物馆（波士顿）的持续合作、公开讲座和参加科学博览会与公众分享。在极紫外光源中，高功率二氧化碳激光聚焦在微米尺度的锡液滴上，从而使它们汽化并产生释放极紫外光的等离子体。尽管经过几十年的努力，总的转换效率（红外线到紫外线）只有百分之几。因此，需要数千瓦的红外功率，这就需要更好的反射镜，因为目前使用的反射镜在高光学强度下经常失效。本项目开发了一种新的纳米加工技术，用于在大块金刚石表面形成具有99%反射率的三维纳米结构。这种金刚石反射镜可以处理更大的光学强度，比最先进的反射镜寿命更长。此外，该团队还开发了各种高功率钻石光学元件，包括滤光片、偏振器、波片和光束合成器。这项合作的重点是通过学生和工程师的互动研究和交流，对块状材料光学表面的纳米加工的基本理解和产学研的关系。工业合作伙伴帮助提供必要的设备，计量和激光专业知识，以推进这项研究。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

While breakthroughs in microfabrication have already allowed for billions of transistors to be integrated on a single integrated circuit, demands for even more computational power require denser chips and smaller transistors. Extreme ultraviolet lithography has emerged as a leading technique that can enable this. However, its performance is limited by the amount of ultraviolet light that can be produced. Optical mirrors used in these systems cannot withstand extremely high optical intensities and often fail, thus limiting the reliability of the system and increasing the production cost. This Grant Opportunity for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) award addresses the need for better mirrors and develops a novel nanomanufacturing technique that allows for optical components to be fabricated in diamond. This is challenging since diamond is one of the hardest materials to shape. The team leverages expertise in material science, nano-machining, optics, and laser physics to overcome these challenges and develop a novel and scalable nanomanufacturing technique. This project has the potential to transform the way chips are made, which has great economic and societal impact owing to the ubiquitous presence of micro-chips in everyday life. In addition to the semiconductor industry, nano-machined diamond components have broad and direct impact on many technologies that use high power lasers, including defense, medicine, and automotive industry. The team's findings are shared with the general public through continued collaborations with Museum of Science (Boston), giving public lectures, and participating in science fairs. In extreme ultraviolet source a high-power carbon-dioxide laser is focused onto micron-scale tin droplets, thus vaporizing them and resulting in plasma that gives off extreme ultraviolet light. Despite many decades of work, the overall conversion efficiency (infrared to ultraviolet) is only a few percent. As a result, kilowatts of infrared power are required, which demands better mirrors, since currently used ones often fail at high optical intensities. This project develops a novel nano-machining technique for forming three-dimensional nanostructures on the surface of bulk diamond surfaces, that feature 99% reflectivity. Such diamond mirrors can handle much larger optical intensities and have much longer lifetime than state-of-the-art mirrors. In addition, the team develops a wide range of high-power diamond-based optical components, including filters, polarizers, wave-plates, and beam combiners. This collaborative effort focuses on fundamental understanding of nano-machining of optical surfaces from bulk materials and industry-university relationship through interactive research and exchange of students and engineers. The industrial partner helps provide the necessary equipment, metrology and laser expertise to advance this research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.