Molecular beam epitaxy facility upgrade

目前位于阿尔伯塔大学的分子束外延（MBE）设备是阿尔伯塔表面工程与科学中心（ACSES）于2004年购买的多功能系统的一部分，是CFI资助的一个项目的一部分。要求为MBE设备的升级提供项目，以便它可以用于用于应用量子器件研究的InGaAlAs基材料系统的生长。这些研究的一些例子是开发InAs/GaAs量子点可饱和吸收剂，InAs/GaAs量子点激光器以及开发基于嵌入玻璃和塑料宿主介质的量子点的新型微芯片激光器。量子点可饱和吸收器和激光器将允许开发用于电信和激光传感应用的超紧凑可调谐源。量子点是一种新的、令人兴奋的纳米材料（尺寸为2-20nm），它在工程发光荧光标签、可饱和吸收剂、超发光二极管和激光器的发展中引起了一场革命。它们具有从可见光到红外（通过材料和尺寸选择）连续可选波长的优点，围绕中心波长的宽带可调性，并且非常稳定，不会因漂白而长期降解。用量子点掺杂玻璃和塑料主体材料来制造光泵浦微激光器，与传统的半导体激光器几何形状相比，在增益介质几何形状上具有更大的灵活性，并且有可能制造更高功率的短脉冲激光系统。开放获取设施也将使材料科学、光子学和纳米技术领域的许多其他研究人员受益。

The current Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) facility at the University of Alberta is part of a multifunctional system purchased by Alberta Centre for Surface Engineering and Science (ACSES) in 2004 as part of a project funded by CFI. Items are requested for the upgrade of the  MBE equipment so that it can be used in the growth of InGaAlAs based material systems for applied quantum device research. Some examples of such research are to develop InAs/GaAs quantum dot saturable absorbers, InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers and to develop new microchip lasers based on quantum dots embedded in glass and plastic host media.Quantum dot saturable absorbers and lasers will allow the development of ultra-compact tunable sources for the telecommunication and laser sensing applications. Quantum dots are a new and exciting class of nanomaterials (scale size 2-20nm) which are leading to a revolution in the development of engineered light emitting fluorescent tags, saturable absorbers, superluminescent diodes and lasers.  They have advantages of continuously selectable wavelengths from visible to infrared (via material and size selection), broadband tunability around the centre wavelength and are very stable against long-term degradation due to bleaching. The doping of glass and plastic host materials with Quantum dots to fabricate optically pumped microlasers gives much more flexibility in gain medium geometry compared to traditional semiconductor laser geometries and potentially allows for the fabrication of higher power short pulse laser systems.  The open access facility will also benefit many other researchers in materials science, photonics and nanotechnology.