Gallium nitride enabled hybrid and flexible photonics

化合物半导体是现代信息和通信技术的核心，目前没有一种半导体比氮化镓及其相关合金家族更重要。该材料系统可用于生产用于显示器、光学数据存储和光伏的覆盖紫外线和可见光光谱的精密光学器件(激光器、发光二极管、光电二极管)；它使用于高温、大功率和高频工作的先进微波电子器件(晶体管)得以开发。目前对氮化镓进行的大部分工作都集中在基本材料本身和可以直接从它制造的器件上。在这里，在一个与广泛的其他材料和学科相结合的富有远见的计划中，我们试图探索氮化镓在“混合和灵活的光子学”方面的独特潜力。这两个相互关联的主题涉及氮化物半导体微/纳米结构和器件与兼容的硬材料和软材料的集成，我们将其包括单晶钻石、纳米复合材料、聚合物覆盖层和衬底、可印刷电子、有机抗蚀剂、生物聚合物和金属/等离子结构。例如，想象一下由氮化镓和钻石制成的混合波导器件。它们可以产生和操纵单个光子，用于充分利用量子力学潜力的计算和通信系统，或者可以通过所谓的受激拉曼过程从钻石中制造激光。此外，想象一下，氮化镓设备被转移到柔性基板上，并通过可打印的电子设备进行控制。这可以促进大面积微型显示器，以及广泛的仪器和通信系统。想象一下，通过纳米复合材料和基于金属的等离子激元效应，氮化镓发射的波长转换是多吉赫兹可见光通信系统的基础。想象一下，一系列纳米光子源能够研究纳米尺度上的基本能量传递过程，并能够执行超高分辨率光刻和直接写入图案。所有这些能力和更多的能力可以从基于氮化镓的混合技术的发展中预见到。它们为英国在纳米科学、激光和非线性光学、量子信息、生物科学和可见光通信等科学技术领域的领先地位提供了巨大的机遇。

Compound semiconductors lie at the heart of modern-day information and communications technologies, and of these none is currently more important than gallium nitride and its associated family of alloys. This material system allows the production of sophisticated optical devices (lasers, light-emitting diodes, photodiodes) covering the ultraviolet and visible spectrum for displays, optical data storage and photovoltaics; it enables the development of advanced microwave electronic devices (transistors) for high temperature, high power and high frequency operation. Most of the work currently undertaken with gallium nitride focuses on the basic material itself and the devices that can be made directly from it. Here, in a visionary programme interfacing to a wide range of other materials and disciplines, we seek to explore the unique potential of gallium nitride for 'hybrid and flexible photonics'. These two interrelated themes involve the integration of nitride semiconductor micro/nanostructures and devices with compatible hard and soft materials, which we take to include single crystal diamond, nanocomposites, polymer overlayers and substrates, printable electronics, organic resists, biopolymers, and metal/plasmonic structures. Imagine, for example, hybrid waveguide devices made from gallium nitride and diamond. These could generate and manipulate single photons of light, towards computation and communications systems exploiting the full potential of quantum mechanics, or could enable lasers to be made from diamond via the so-called stimulated Raman process. Imagine, furthermore, the transfer of gallium nitride devices onto flexible substrates and their control via printable electronics. This could facilitate large area micro-displays, and a wide range of instrumentation and communications systems. Imagine the wavelength conversion of gallium nitride emission via nanocomposites and metal-based plasmonic effects, as the basis of multi-gigahertz visible light communications systems. Imagine a range of nanophotonic sources capable of stuying fundamental energy transfer processes on a nanoscale and of performing ultra-high resolution photolithography and direct write patterning. All of these capabilities and more can be forseen by the development of hybrid technologies based on gallium nitride. They present tremendous opportunities for UK leadership in fields of science and technology as diverse as nanoscience, lasers and nonlinear optics, quantum information, bioscience and visible light communications.