Engineered electrophotonic nanosystems

在不同的市场领域保持经济增长需要利用日益复杂的材料技术的应用程序的持续发展。通过使用复杂的系统设计方法，基于纳米线制造工艺技术，我们正在开发一种多功能材料系统和设计范式，利用耦合到光子传输体系结构的光电纳米结构来双向控制设备操作。我们使用生长在纳米线内的量子点，其位置通过模板过程控制。通过混合不同组成和尺寸的纳米线，我们可以将量子点作为微结构阵列的组成部分，例如，一种平面光子晶体。这允许通过数值设计和模拟来定制局部光子态密度。我们目前的重点是通过相互作用的量子点链增强系统的非线性特性来全光学地操纵光流的能力。控制方面在稍后阶段通过操纵态密度来实现。我们的设计和模拟信息被用来为制造工艺的发展提供信息，我们正在合作从事这项工作。由于器件原型在我们的纳米系统表征设施中进行分析，以完全关闭设计循环，从而使我们能够实现这项技术的更复杂的应用。我们的方法是基于对当前摩尔定律范式中无法出现的技术的开发的智能系统角度。它有望使混合和单片集成之间的区别在未来的技术中变得无关紧要，这些技术在芯片层面融合了电子和光子。

Maintenance of economic growth across diverse market sectors requires continued evolution in applications that exploit increasingly sophisticated materials technology.  Using a complex systems design approach, based on nanowire fabrication process technology, we are developing a multifunctional materials system and design paradigm exploiting optoelectronic nanostructures coupled to photon transport architectures for bi-directional control of device operation.  We use quantum dots grown inside nanowires, whose positions are controlled through a templating process.  By mixing nanowires of various compositions and size, we can place quantum dots as integral parts of microstructured arrays that form, e.g., a planar photonic crystal.  This permits the local photonic density of states to be tailored through numerical design and simulation.  Our present focus is on the ability to all-optically manipulate the flow of light through an enhancement of the nonlinear properties of the system via interacting quantum dot chains.  The control aspects come in at a later stage though manipulation of the electronic densities of state.  Our design and simulation information is used to inform fabrication process development, which we are engaged in collaboratively.  The device prototypes are analyzed in our nanosystems characterization facility to fully close the design loop, thus permitting us to realize ever more sophisticated applications of this technology.  Our approach is predicated on a "smart systems" perspective for exploitation of technology that cannot arise within the current Moore's law paradigm.  It will hopefully render irrelevant the distinction between hybrid and monolithic integration in future technologies that meld the electronic and the photonic at the chip level.