Strain microscopy for process and product optimization of opto-electronic materials

人类在21世纪面临的最重要挑战是可再生和可持续能源的发展。作为补充，我们还必须在开发新的可再生能源的同时减少能源消耗。由于照明用光占用电量的20%，因此可以通过提高光源的效率来实现显著的收益。目前的光源使用有毒的汞或铅(在紧凑型荧光灯的情况下)或高成本和有限的可扩展性(在LED的情况下)。进一步的改进--简单地说，制造更好的灯泡--是应对能源挑战的关键一步。第四集团半导体公司是一家加拿大高科技公司，正在开发基于发光元件或纳米晶体的新型高效“灯泡”。这项技术可以比传统灯泡更高效地发光，与紧凑型荧光灯和LED技术相比具有显著的优势。为了改进这些设备的制造，第四集团半导体公司需要更好地了解应变在其发光材料中的作用。这种应变会影响这些固态发光器件的性能、寿命和可靠性。我们将使用我们的应变显微镜来表征这些设备中的应变，帮助第四集团半导体公司改进这些高效发光材料的制造。该项目利用申请者团队的独特技能来开发第四集团半导体公司开发和制造更好的固态灯泡所需的分析工具。这将显著提高增值产品的制造竞争力，此外还将有助于解决我们面临的严峻能源挑战。

Humanity's most important challenge for the 21st century is the development of renewable and sustainable energy sources. As a complementary step, we must also reduce our energy consumption while new renewable sources are being developed. As light for illumination accounts for ~20% of electricity use, significant gains can be realized by improving the efficiency of light sources. Current light sources suffer from use of toxic mercury or lead (in the case of compact fluorescent bulbs) or high cost and limited scalability (in the case of LEDs). Further improvements - simply, making better light bulbs - is an essential step towards addressing our energy challenges. Group IV Semiconductor Inc. is a Canadian high technology company that is developing new high-efficiency "light bulbs" based on light emitting elements or nanocrystals. This technology can generate light more efficiently than conventional bulbs, with significant advantages relative to compact fluorescent and LED technologies. To improve the manufacture of these devices, Group IV Semiconductor Inc. needs to better understand the role of strain in their light emitting materials. This strain affects the performance, lifetime and reliability of these solid state light emitting devices. We will use our strain microscopy to characterize strain in these devices, helping Group IV Semiconductor Inc. to improve their manufacture of these high efficiency light-emitting materials. This project uses the unique skills of the applicant team to develop the analytical tools that Group IV Semiconductor Inc. needs to develop and manufacture better solid state light bulbs. This will significantly enhance the competitive manufacturing of a value-added product that in addition will help address our serious energy resource challenges.