NICOP - INFRARED LIGHT CONTROL USING PHASE-CHANGE METADEVICES
Abstract
INFRARED LIGHT CONTROL USING PHASE-CHANGE METADEVICESNeed and relevance:Many devices that are essential for sensors, EW, communications, computational hardware, and displays rely on high-speed control and manipulation of electron flows and photon fluxes. For example, the response of detectors, the bandwidth of EW and communication systems, the floating point operation (FLOP) rate of microprocessors and memories, the update rate of display pixels, and the laser beam scanning performance of emerging optical phase arrays depend largely on the switching speed of electronic or optoelectronic devices. In numerous Navy applications related to C4ISR, fire control, missile and weapon guidance, significant tactical benefits could be obtained if novel optoelectronic devices could be developed to provide higher switching speeds with lower power consumption. S&T background:It is well known that chalcogenide phase-change alloys, for example (Ge2Sb2Te5) (GST), are materials which have optical and electrical properties that change drastically between their amorphous and crystalline phases. These two phases can be switched (electrically, optically and thermally) quickly and repeatedly at time scales of picoseconds or faster. The switching speed of GST is limited by how fast an amorphous region can be re-crystallized, which in turn depends on crystal nucleation and growth velocities. The required switching power is dictated by the need to heat the phase-change layer above its melting point to access the amorphous phase. The endurance of GST is usually limited by electromigration effects that result in phase-separation. Furthermore, the operating characteristics of current devices based on phase-change materials are fixed by structure and design. Innovation of proposal:The proposed study will design, fabricate, characterize, and evaluate innovative devices using phase-change alloys as elements of novel, tailored plasmonic metamaterial arrays. This unprecedented approach is expected to provide faster, tunable/reconfigurable devices whose critical parameters can be changed during operation to adapt to changing needs. In addition, the PI will study previously unexplored GaLaS-based (GLS) chalcogenide materials that can potentially reduce power requirements by one or two orders of magnitude, and also yield more stable devices. The study will ensure that the explored techniques are suitable for production using conventional micro-fabrication processes. The outcomes of this study have the potential to enable a new generation of active phase-change metadevices with wide-ranging applications relevant to the Navy. PI:The PI, Dr. David Wright, Professor of Electronic Engineering at the University of Exeter, is an internationally recognized expert and has extensive experience with leading national and international research projects. For example, he led i) the recently completed ~~4 million, EU FP7 Project CareRAMM (Carbon Resistive Random Access Memory Materials) with partners from the University of Cambridge, IBM Zurich, RWTH-Aachen and ISSP-Sofia, ii) the ~~10 million, 52-month, 10-partner, EU FP6 Integrated Project ProTeM (Probe-based Terabyte Memories), and iii) the NSF ~ initiated ~~1 million ~Materials World Network~ project with partners from the University of Pennsylvania. ONR Connection:Brian Bennett, Code 31, is a strong supporter of this project and will co-fund it at 50%. Desired outcomes:1. Completion of the proposed study, including models and experimental validation, and analysis of the data 2. Characterization and comparative merits of various devices that will be fabricated3. Publications in respectable journals and conferences4. Collaboration with University of Pennsylvania
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 23, 2016
- Source ID
- N629091612174
Entities
People
- Christopher Wright
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Exeter