The
Optoelectronic Manufacturing Group (815.04) develops and provides
advanced measurement technology, reference data, and test structures
to support the efficient manufacture and characterization of optoelectronic
components. The Group also develops new optoelectronic devices
in support of NIST programs and other government organizations.
A major focus is compound semiconductor nanotechnology. The Group's
activities are carried out in four project areas.
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The Semiconductor Growth
and Devices Project supports the III-V semiconductor
optoelectronics industry with research related to the epitaxial
growth of III-V materials and fundamentally new device structures.
Project members are working with industry to develop composition
standards and improve the measurement accuracy of alloy composition
and in situ measurements during epitaxial growth in order to facilitate
device modeling and improve the yield of growth services.
Tools for analyzing the impurity concentrations of source materials
with unprecedented sensitivity are being developed. Project members
are also addressing issues of uniformity measurement and improvement
in self-assembled quantum dots, and the use of strain to enable
nanostructure ordering. GaN quantum nanowires are grown and characterized
for use in light sources, sensors and advanced microscopy. |
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The Optical Materials Metrology
Project develops and applies methods for the characterization
of optoelectronic materials. CW and time-resolved photoluminescence
measurements and nonlinear optical analysis are correlated with
complementary methods such as x-ray diffraction imaging and cathodoluminescence
for studies of the optical, electronic, and structural features
of bulk substrates and thin films. The current focus is the group
III-nitrides used in short wavelength lasers and light emitting
diodes for solid state lighting. Precision measurement of the
optical constants supports device design in the industry. Research
has extended to GaN quantum nanowire devices and metrology for
applications including nanoscale microscopy and chemical and biomedical
sensing |
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The Nanostructure
Fabrication and Metrology Project develops measurement
techniques and new devices for metrology based on epitaxial semiconductor
nanostructures. It develops modeling, fabrication and metrology
methods for single photon sources and detectors and photonic crystals
for application to new quantum-based radiometry standards, quantum
computing and quantum cryptography. The Project also measures
the fundamental properties of self-assembled quantum dot structures
for lasers, detectors, and optical amplifiers.
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The Quantum
Information and Terahertz Technology Project develops and applies single photon detectors based on superconducting
technology in the optical and infrared spectral regions to metrology,
science and new quantum-based communication systems. It also develops
and evaluates metrological methods, components, and technology
for imaging and spectroscopy from ~100 GHz to several THz in frequency.
Applications include remote detection of contraband, industrial
processing, and remote identification of chemicals.
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