Steven R. J. Brueck

Large second-order nonlinearity in poled fused silica

A large second-order nonlinearity [chi((2)) 1 pm/V 0.2 chi((2)) (22) for LiNbO(3)] is induced in the near-surface ( 4 microm) region of commercial fused-silica optical flats by a temperature (250-325 degrees C) and electric-field (E ~ 5 x 10(4) V/cm) poling process. Once formed, the nonlinearity, which is roughly 10(3)-10(4) times larger than that found in fiber second-harmonic experiments, is extremely stable at room temperature and laboratory ambient. The nonlinearity can be cycled by repeated depoling (temperature only) and repoling (temperature and electric field) processes without history effects. Possible mechanisms, including nonlinear moieties and electric-field-induced second-order nonlinearities, are discussed.

Near-infrared double negative metamaterials

We numerically demonstrate a metamaterial with both negative epsilon and negative mu over an overlapping near-infrared wavelength range resulting in a low loss negative-index material. Parametric studies optimizing this negative index are presented. This structure can be easily fabricated with standard semiconductor processing techniques.

Optical and Interferometric Lithography - Nanotechnology Enablers

Interferometric lithography (IL), the interference of a small number of coherent optical beams, is a powerful technique for the fabrication of a wide array of samples of interest for nanoscience and nanotechnology. The techniques and limits of IL are discussed with particular attention to the smallest scales achievable. With immersion techniques, the smallest pattern size for a single exposure is a half-pitch of /spl lambda//4n where /spl lambda/ is the optical wavelength and n is the refractive index of the immersion material. Currently with a 193-nm excimer laser source and H/sub 2/O immersion, this limiting dimension is /spl sim/34 nm. With nonlinear spatial frequency multiplication techniques, this limit is extended by factors of 1/2, 1/3, etc.-extending well into the nanoscale regime. IL provides an inexpensive, large-area capability as a result of its parallelism. Multiple exposures, multiple beams, and mix-and-match with other lithographies extend the range of applicability. Imaging IL provides an approach to arbitrary structures with comparable resolution. Numerous application areas, including nanoscale epitaxial growth for semiconductor heterostructures; nanofluidics for biological separations; nanomagnetics for increased storage density; nanophotonics including distributed feedback and distributed Bragg reflectors, two- and three-dimensional photonic crystals, metamaterials, and negative refractive index materials for enhanced optical interactions are briefly reviewed.

Nanostructures and Functional Materials Fabricated by Interferometric Lithography

Interferometric lithography (IL) is a powerful technique for the definition of large-area, nanometer-scale, periodically patterned structures. Patterns are recorded in a light-sensitive medium, such as a photoresist, that responds nonlinearly to the intensity distribution associated with the interference of two or more coherent beams of light. The photoresist patterns produced with IL are a platform for further fabrication of nanostructures and growth of functional materials and are building blocks for devices. This article provides a brief review of IL technologies and focuses on various applications for nanostructures and functional materials based on IL including directed self-assembly of colloidal nanoparticles, nanophotonics, semiconductor materials growth, and nanofluidic devices. Perspectives on future directions for IL and emerging applications in other fields are presented.

Space charge dynamics in thermally poled fused silica

Measurements of the transient behavior of both the second-harmonic generation signal and the poling current for type-II fused silica samples under a variety of poling histories are reported. The applied voltage was switched between +5 kV, 0 V, and −5 kV with the sample maintained at 275°C. Observations include: multiple time scales (seconds to minutes) for development of the non-linearity depending on the poling history; a transient second-harmonic signal on the new cathode side of the sample following voltage reversal; and hysteretic incubation intervals before growth of the non-linearity. These observations are incompatible with the usual single mobile ion (e.g. Na+) model for establishing the strong local electric field that leads to the non-linearity. An expanded model including ion-exchange between a high mobility ion (as Na+) and a much lower mobility ion (related to H+) provides a good qualitative fit to the experiments.

Strongly Anisotropic Wetting on One-Dimensional Nanopatterned Surfaces

This communication reports strongly anisotropic wetting behavior on one-dimensional nanopatterned surfaces. Contact angles, degree of anisotropy, and droplet distortion are measured on micro- and nanopatterned surfaces fabricated with interference lithography. Both the degree of anisotropy and the droplet distortion are extremely high as compared with previous reports because of the well-defined nanostructural morphology. The surface is manipulated to tune with the wetting from hydrophobic to hydrophilic while retaining the structural wetting anisotropy with a simple silica nanoparticle overcoat. The wetting mechanisms are discussed. Potential applications in microfluidic devices and evaporation-induced pattern formation are demonstrated.

Resonant periodic gain surface-emitting semiconductor lasers

A surface-emitting semiconductor laser structure with a vertical cavity, extremely short gain medium length, and enhanced gain at a specific design wavelength is described. The active region consists of a series of quantum wells spaced at one half the wavelength of a particular optical transition in the quantum wells. This special periodicity allows the antinodes of the standing-wave optical field to coincide with the gain elements, enhancing the frequency selectivity, increasing the gain in the vertical direction by a factor of two compared to a uniform medium or a nonresonant multiple quantum well, and substantially reducing amplified spontaneous emission. Optically pumped lasing was achieved in a GaAs/AlGaAs structure grown by molecular-beam epitaxy, with what is believed to be the shortest gain medium (310 nm) ever reported. >

Vibrational energy relaxation in liquid N2CO mixtures

The vibrational energy relaxation rates of the liquid nitrogenCO system have been measured by optically pumping the collision-induced fundamental vibrational absorption band of liquid N2 with the output of an HBr TEA laser. A radiatively dominated value of 56 ± 10 s is found for the intrinsic nitrogen relaxation time. The CO contribution to the decay rate is explained on the basis of a simple kinetic model and found also to be radiatively dominated at low CO concentrations. The importance of radiative trapping and energy transport in evaluating the lifetimes is demonstrated.

Quantum dot infrared photodetector enhanced by surface plasma wave excitation

Up to a thirty-fold detectivity enhancement is achieved for an InAs quantum dot infrared photodetector (QDIP) by the excitation of surface plasma waves (SPWs) using a metal photonic crystal (MPC) integrated on top of the detector absorption region. The MPC is a 100 nm-thick gold film perforated with a 3.6 microm period square array of circular holes. A bare QDIP shows a bias-tunable broadband response from approximately 6 to 10 microm associated with the quantum confined Stark (QCS) effect. On the other hand, an MPC-integrated QDIP exhibits a dominant peak at 11.3 microm with a approximately 1 microm full width at half maximum and the highly enhanced detectivity at the bias polarity optimized for long wavelength. This is very different from the photoresponse of the bare QDIP but fully consistent with the direct coupling of the QDs in the detector absorption region to the SPWs excited at the MPC/detector interface by incident photons. The SPW resonance wavelength, lambda, for the smallest coupling wavevector of the array in the MPC is close to 11.3 microm. The response also shows other SPW-coupled peaks: a significant peak at 8.1 microm (approximately lambda/radical2) and noticeable peaks at 5.8 microm (approximately lambda/2) and 5.4 microm (approximately lambda/ radical5) which correspond to higher-order coupling wavevectors. For the opposite bias, the MPC-integrated QDIP shows the highest response at 8.1 microm, providing a dramatic voltage tunability that is associated with QCS effect. SPWs propagate with TM (x, z) polarization along the MPC/detector interface. The enhanced detectivity is explained by these characteristics which increase both the effective absorption cross section with propagation and the interaction strength with TM polarization in the coupling to the QDs. Simulations show good qualitative agreement with the observed spectral behavior.

Selective growth of Ge on Si(100) through vias of SiO2 nanotemplate using solid source molecular beam epitaxy

We demonstrate that Ge can be selectively grown on Si(100) through openings in a SiO2 nanotemplate by solid source molecular beam epitaxy. The selectivity relies on the thermal instability of GeO and SiO near 650 °C. Ge islands grow in the template windows and coalesce on top of the template, forming an epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) layer. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy images show that the Ge seeds and the ELO layer are free of threading dislocations. Only stacking faults are generated but terminate within 70 nm of the Ge–Si interface, while twins along {111} planes are observed in the ELO layer. The threading-dislocation-free Ge seeds and ELO layer are attributed to epitaxial necking as well as Ge–Si intermixing at the interface.