Acquisition of Characterization Equipment to Broaden the Middle-Infrared Integrated Microwave Photonics Developments
Abstract
We request funds from the Department of Defense (DoD) to: 1) upgrade our device measurement systems (including passive devices and high frequency active devices) to allow for the cryogenic and high temperature characterization, with temperature ranging from 4.5 K to 475 K; 2) upgrade our existing photoluminescence (PL) measurement system with a tunable femtosecond laser (680-1300 nm wavelength coverage) to enable the photoluminescence excitation (PLE) measurement, which could probe the detailed electronic energy states of the material; 3) build a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy measurement system to allow for in-depth photodetector characterization in near- and mid-IR wavelength range. The newly upgrade components and built systems include: 1) a cryogenic probe station equipped with up to 4-inch (diameter) sample holder, RF/microwave probes (up to 67 GHz) and fiber optic probes; 2) an ultrafast one box Ti: Sapphire laser with widely tunable wavelength and < 120 fs pulse width; 3) a FTIR spectrometer that can acquire spectra from visible to mid-infrared with internally equipped mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe, MCT) and indium antimonide (InSb) detectors. For the upgraded device measurement system, since all measurements so far have been performed at room temperature, and the results showed less satisfactory, the capability of characterizing the passive and active devices at lower temperature will allow the team to investigate the fundamental performance of the devices towards integrated microwave photonics (IMWP) applications. For the optoelectronic devices such as photodetectors and modulators, the noise floor will be significantly reduced at low temperature. For the passive devices such as waveguides and resonators, a database regarding temperature-dependent performance will be created. For the upgraded PL measurement system, the objective is to probe the accurate electronic band structure of SiGeSn alloys as well as the band alignment of heterostructures and quantum well structures, which will be enabled by the newly purchased tunable femtosecond laser via photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectroscopy. This technique provides information about the absorption energies of the material, whereas PL provides information about the bandgap energy. This method is similar to the absorption measurement technique, but with higher signal to noise ratio. PLE is able to access the excited states, which provides information about the absorption and emission of the electronic states. For the newly built FTIR spectroscopy measurement system, the Nicolet iS50R research FTIR supports amplitude modulation and time-resolved step-scan spectroscopy. The InSb detector offers high responsivity at 1000-5405 nm wavelength range, while MCT detector offers long wavelength cut-off at 16.67 µm. The near- and mid-infrared LED and photodetectors can be systemically investigated. Moreover, for high frequency devices, the 3 dB bandwidth will be characterized. Furthermore, by leveraging the current on-going projects ÒMiddle-Infrared Si-photonics for Integrated Microwave PhotonicsÓ (AFOSR) and ÒDevelopment of Sapphire based Integrated Microwave PhotonicsÓ (ARL), the newly upgrade components and built systems will enable the research team to comprehensively characterize the novel device configurations. For example, Silicon on Sapphire (SOS) circuit, SOS not only embraces all the features of Si photonics but also offer additional technology advantages such as radiation hardness. This platform could have broad applications for harsh environments (space and nuclear).
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 02, 2022
- Source ID
- W911NF2210149
Entities
People
- Mansour Mortazavi
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Office of the Secretary of Defense
- University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff