Stable cryostat for the spectroscopic imaging and microscopy of semiconductor nanostructures

自半导体研究开始以来，温度一直是获得材料内部电子和光学过程信息的最有用的实验参数之一。在低温下，掩盖许多重要过程的振动减少，可以观察到属于各个状态的谱线。此外，许多过程都依赖于温度，测量这种依赖性使研究人员能够揭示相关的物理学。申请人要求提供一种无冷冻剂的低温恒温器，其具有非常低的振动（<5 nm峰-峰）和低漂移，用于半导体研究。这种技术近年来才商业化，允许研究人员使用显微技术（成像/共聚焦）在低温下研究纳米结构和单个发射器。它将用于研究太阳能、照明、激光和量子信息的各种材料。目前，蒙特利尔理工学院只有一个自制的低温恒温器，其振动水平与此相似，但它与显微镜和成像技术不兼容。所要求的低温恒温器将允许在几十分钟内进行长达12小时的测量，从而释放访问并大幅提高生产力。该RTI将满足申请人群体对额外低温能力的基本和迫切需求-这一直是学生培训和研究的主要瓶颈。

Since the dawn of semiconductor research, temperature has been one of the most useful experimental parameters for obtaining information about electronic and optical processes within a material. At low temperature, the vibrations that mask many important processes are reduced and the spectral lines belonging to individual states can be observed. Moreover, many processes are temperature-dependent and measuring this dependence allows researchers to uncover the relevant physics. The applicants are requesting a cryogen-free cryostat with very low vibrations (<5 nm peak-to-peak) and low drift for semiconductor research. Such technology has only become commercially available in recent years and allows researchers to use microscopic techniques (imaging/confocal) to study nanostructures and individual emitters at low temperatures. It will be used to pursue research on a broad range of materials for solar energy, lighting, lasers and quantum information. At present, there is only one homebuilt cryostat at Polytechnique Montréal with vibrations at a similar level, but it is incompatible with microscopy and imaging techniques. The requested cryostat will allow for measurements that took upwards of 12 hours to be performed in only tens of minutes, thus freeing up access and drastically increasing productivity. This RTI will fill an essential and urgent need for additional low-temperature capability in the applicants groups—this has been a major bottleneck for student training and research.