Taming Terahertz Vacuum Fluctuations for a Novel Generation of Nanodevices

低维材料是一种非常有吸引力的解决方案，可以克服目前传统电子缩放的限制，因为它们有望将小型化降低到单原子层的水平。这将影响广泛的光电子和纳米电子技术，这些技术是各种设备(如个人电脑，以及智能手机、平板电脑和电视)的核心，在我们日常生活的许多方面帮助我们。现在需要大幅提高这些新材料平台的性能和能源效率，才能最终推动它们的实际实施。这项建议中描述的研究计划将专注于通过一种全新的方法来改善低维系统的光学/电学性能，通过作用于通常导致固体中能量耗散的机制(声子散射-声子是晶格振动的量子)。与目前的努力不同，我们的目标是更直接但往往是边缘的材料优化，我们将设计材料运行的电磁环境。事实上，我们最近已经证明，使用适当定制的太赫兹纳米等离子体谐振器可以改变纳米材料的本征声子响应。这可以在不需要任何直接太赫兹照明的情况下实现，只需利用这种谐振器中与太赫兹“量子真空涨落”相关的高“真空”电场。这项研究将致力于设计和实现用于选择性操纵降维材料光学声子响应的新型纳米光子结构。中期和长期要追求的设备将包括先进的发光二极管和纳米电子电路，以及“芯片上”太赫兹传感器和太赫兹数据通信系统。在短期内，将围绕四个相互关联的研究轨道开展活动，利用声子共振重塑来开发：(1)不需要复杂的光学泵站即可运行的微型太赫兹辐射源；(2)在纳米尺度上增强太赫兹非线性的计划；(3)等离子体纳米结构，以增强(3)光学发射和(4)二维材料中的电荷传输。该计划最终将提供关于太赫兹真空波动设计解决方案何时以及如何在获得高性能系统方面提供竞争优势的一般性、有根据的指导方针。因此，它可以为新的先进技术的发展铺平道路，符合加拿大光子业的迫切需要，同时还可以促进高素质人员的培训，以应对我们现代社会的科学和技术挑战。

Low-dimensional materials represent an extremely appealing solution to overcome the current limits of traditional electronic scaling, as they promise to bring miniaturization down to the level of single atomic layers. This would impact a wide range of opto- and nano-electronic technologies, at the core of a variety of devices (such as personal computers, as well as smart phones, tablets and TVs) that assist us in many aspects of our daily life. A drastic boost in the performance and energy efficiency of these new material platforms is now needed to definitively push their practical implementation. The research program described in this proposal will focus on improving the optical/electrical performance of low-dimensional systems through a completely novel approach, by acting on the very mechanism (phonon scattering - phonons being quanta of lattice vibrations) that is typically responsible for energy dissipation in solids. Unlike current efforts targeting more straightforward but often marginal material optimizations, we will engineer the electromagnetic environment where the materials operate. Indeed, we have recently demonstrated that the intrinsic phonon response of nanomaterials can be modified using properly tailored terahertz nanoplasmonic resonators. This can be achieved without the need of any direct terahertz illumination, by solely exploiting the high "vacuum" electric field associated with terahertz "quantum vacuum fluctuations" in such resonators. The proposed research will address the design and realization of novel nanophotonic architectures for the selective manipulation of the optical phonon response of reduced-dimensionality materials. Devices to be pursued in the mid- to long-term will include advanced LEDs and nanoelectronic circuits, as well as `on chip' terahertz sensor and terahertz data communication systems. In the short-term, activities will be conducted around four inter-related research tracks, exploiting phonon resonance reshaping to develop: (i) miniaturized sources of terahertz radiation that do not require complex optical pumping stations to operate; (ii) schemes for enhancing terahertz nonlinearities at the nanoscale; plasmonic nano-architectures for boosting (iii) optical light emission and (iv) charge transport in two-dimensional materials. The program will ultimately provide general, well-founded guidelines on when and how terahertz vacuum fluctuation design solutions can offer a competitive advantage in obtaining high-performing systems. It can thus pave the way for the development of new advanced technologies, consistently with the immediate needs of the Canadian photonics industry, while also promoting the training of highly qualified personnel, to respond to the scientific and technological challenges of our modern society.