High-resolution, broadband and time-resolved Fourier transform infrared spectrometer for advanced photonic and material research

无论是生物学、物理学还是工程学，光谱学对于学术研究的重要性都是众所周知的。它被广泛用于探测反应分子与固体表面的相互作用、量子半导体结构中微妙的能带/能级、新材料的光学性质(发射、吸收、透过和反射)以及光子和光电子器件的特性。该奖项为购买灵活、多光谱范围、时间域、高分辨率傅里叶变换红外光谱仪(FTIR)提供支持，用于材料和量子器件表征方面的研究和教学。FTIR系统覆盖从可见光到远红外(太赫兹频段)的广泛光谱范围。它在所有波长范围内都具有高性能，并提供快速扫描(对于探测动力学过程很重要)和阶跃扫描(用于时间分辨实验)选项。该系统是申请者正在进行的太赫兹量子级联激光器、中红外(MIR)量子级联激光器、半导体极化激光器、微米尺寸发光二极管(LED)、自供电应变传感器等研究项目中不可或缺的工具。它将为我们在以下方面的研究提供必要的能力：1)太赫兹/MIR量子级联激光器的发展和表征；2)量子半导体异质结构内部动态过程的研究；3)新材料和纳米电子器件的探索和表征。该系统将极大地利用我们在开发高性能半导体光子/纳米电子材料和器件组件方面的研究成果，这些材料和器件用于成像、通信、传感、能量采集和光谱应用。此外，拟议的系统将有助于将我们的研究扩展到纳米技术和生物光子学等新领域。建议的FTIR系统不仅非常适合我们的光子/材料研究计划中最苛刻的研究应用，而且对于我们的研究生和其他HQP来说，它是一个很好的教学工具。FTIR系统的使用将为我们电子工程、计算机工程、材料科学和工程专业的本科生和研究生提供更多的研究和教育机会，特别是在中红外、远红外/太赫兹光子学方面。在适当的时候，这将有利于加拿大的经济和福利。

Whether it is Biology or Physics or Engineering, the importance of spectroscopy for academic research is well-known. It has been widely used for probing the interaction of reacting molecules and solid surfaces, the subtle energy bands/levels in quantum semiconductor structures, the optical properties of novel materials(emission, absorption, transmission and reflection) and the characteristics of photonic and optoelectronic devices. This award provides support for the acquisition of a flexible, multiple spectral range, time-domain,high-resolution Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) for research and education in material and quantum device characterization. The FTIR system covers a wide spectral range from visible light to far-infrared (THz frequency region). It has high performance for all wavelength range and provides rapid scan (important for probing kinetic processes) and step scan (for time-resolved experiments) options. The proposed system is an indispensable tool for the applicants' ongoing research projects on terahertz quantum cascade lasers, mid-infrared (MIR) quantum cascade lasers, semiconductor polariton laser, micrometer sized light emitting diodes (LEDs), self-powered strain sensors, to name just a few. It will provide essential capabilities to our research on: 1) development and characterization ofTHz/MIR quantum cascade lasers; 2) investigation of internal dynamic processes of quantum semiconductorheterostructures; 3) exploration and characterization of novel materials and nanoelectronic devices. The system will significantly leverage our research efforts in developing high-performance semiconductor photonic/nanoelectronic materials and device components for imaging, communication, sensing, energy harvesting and spectroscopic applications. In addition, the proposed system will help extend our research into new areas such as nanotechnology and biophotonics. Not only does the proposed FTIR system fit well to the most demanding research applications in our photonic/material research program, it is a great teaching tool for our graduate students and other HQP. The availability of this FTIR system will enrich the research and education opportunities, particularly in middle infrared, far-infrared/THz photonics, to our undergraduate and graduate students from the electrical engineering, computer engineering, and material science and engineering programs. This will, in due course, benefit the economy and welfare of Canada.