From Direct Optical to Field-Induced Modulation of Photonic Modes Enabled by Novel 2D Materials
Abstract
At the 2-dimensional (2D) limit, extraordinary material properties emerge that are found neitherin bulk nor at lower dimensionality; these include high oscillator strengths, room-temperatureexcitonic features, and peak density-of-states. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) inparticular, offer the added opportunity of facile crystalline deposition onto amorphous substratesand into complex geometries within the thermal budget of SiN/Si and SiO2/Si devices. Here weask what possibilities such materials offer with regards to i) photon-matter-photon interactionsleading to all-optical photonic devices, and ii) Franz-Keldysh type electro-optic modulation. Weaim to answer these questions in five steps through a combination of i) detailed modeling ofdevice performance, ii) determination of design rules for the integration of TMD materials intophotonic devices, iii) fabrication of prototypical photonic structures at iteratively increasingcomplexity directly harnessing the unique deposition properties of these materials, iv) rigorousphotonic characterization both in the visible and at telecommunication wavelengths, and v)application-near performance testing of prototypical devices. The PIs have an outstanding trackrecord and complementary expertise in application (Sorger) and preparation (Bartels) of 2Dmaterial including the necessary facilities. The resultant prototypical photonic devices willsupport the USAF mission by providing radiation-hard, lightweight, low-power, eaves-dropping-resistant electro-optic and all-optic switching devices for optical power efficient on-board data processing. Moreover, this project involves Hispanic students at an accredited Hispanic Serving Institution (UCR) from a research group with a record in teaching, training, and transitioning(3T) Hispanic Ph.D. graduates into jobs directly supporting the USAF mission.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 09, 2018
- Source ID
- FA95501710377
Entities
People
- Volker Sorger
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- George Washington University
- United States Air Force