This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 9556, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Invited Panel Discussion, and Conference Committee listing.

We outline the reasons why indium tin oxides is still not replaced in transparent electrodes although enormous research has been carried out in the past decade. We evaluate the advantages and drawbacks of possible alter- native materials with regard to material performance and cost-efficiency. As a result, we state that graphene is a very promising material but the production costs are very high. Without a technological breakthrough to- wards an energy- and material-efficient synthesis of graphene, this material will remain unfeasible for the use in industrially scaled production of transparent electrodes. Silver nanowires are easier to process but they exhibit high haze. Within our approach we produce ultra-transparent silver nanowire films and silver nanowire/carbon nanotube hybrid films with low haze. Our manufacturing technique is scalable on conventional smart phone glass and we present a conceptual production cell for the fabrication of ultra-transparent electrodes with optical transmission higher than 97 % and sheet resistance lower than 70 Ω/sq. The optoelectrical performance of these films is superior to most of the recently published silver nanowire films. The theoretical material range for 1 g of AgNWs is 165 m

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been considered as one of the most promising new generation solar cells. Enormous research efforts have been invested to improve the efficiency of solar energy conversion which is determined by the light harvesting efficiency, electron injection efficiency and undesirable electron lifetime. A simple, cheap and trustable laser-induced photovoltage and photocurrent decay (LIPVCD) technique is adopted in this work in order to determine the electron lifetime (τ_e) and electron transport (τ_tr) in DSSCs. In LIPVCD technique, DSSC is illuminated by a small squared intensity-modulated laser beam. Time-based response of the DSSC is recorded using a transient digitized oscilloscope for further analysis. Frequency-based response was also investigated in this work. The frequency-dependent measurements turned out to be a powerful method to determine electron time constants in a fast, real-time fashion. Measurements were carried out using a standard dye-sensitized solar cell, and results were in excellent agreement with results obtained from traditional IMVSIMPS measurements. Measurements were also performed for a variety of DSSCs, having various electrodes including TiO₂ nanoparticles, TiO₂ nanosheets with exposed {001} facets and ZnO vertically aligned nanowires. Results will also be presented and discussed in this work.

The co-sputtered Cu-Si-O and Cu-Ge-O thin films were prepared using reactive DC, pulse DC and modulated pulse power magnetron sputtering (MPPMS) on two separate Cu and Si or Cu and Ge targets simultaneously. The powers on each target and Oxygen/Argon flow ratio f(O2) were varied to have different stoichiometies determined by XPS. The film thickness, refractive index n and extinction coefficient k were extracted from in situ ellipsometry and the reactive plasma discharge was monitored by optical emission spectroscopy in real time during film growth. The grazing incident x-ray diffraction measurements reveal that the films deposited at low f(O2) have the nanocrystalline structure of cuprous Cu2O with diffraction peaks of (111) and (200). The films deposited at high f(O2) (≥ 1) have cupric oxide CuO phase. The optical constant n and k, film density and band gap of the co-sputtered film were investigated and determined by in situ ellipsometry, X-ray reflectivity and UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy. Their structural, chemical and optical properties are able to be tuned by incorporating Cu2O, CuO and the mixtures of them into Silicon oxide or Germanium oxide matrix with varying target powers and oxygen/Argon ratio for applications in optical coatings and optical filters.

We propose slim coherent backlight unit for a mobile holographic display. This backlight unit consists of glass substrate for waveguide and two surface gratings produced by two-beam interference. The area of backlight illumination is 150 by 85 mm, and the thickness is 0.7 mm, which is thin compared to other conventional coherent backlight units. This backlight unit exhibits a total efficiency of 0.1%, preserving the collimation and a uniformity of 80% over the whole area. The proposed slim coherent backlight can be applied to a mobile holographic display.

A method for fabricating scalable antireflective nanostructures on polymer surfaces (polycarbonate) is demonstrated. The transition from small scale fabrication of nanostructures to a scalable replication technique can be quite challenging. In this work, an area per print corresponding to a 2-inch-wafer, is presented. The initial nanopatterning is performed on SiC in a 2-step process. Depending on the nanostructures the transmission of the SiC surface can be increased or suppressed (average height of nanostructures ~300nm and ~600nm, respectively) while the reflectance is decreased, when compared to a bare surface. The reflectance of SiC can be reduced down to 0.5% when the ~600nm nanostructures are applied on the surface (bare surface reflectance 25%). The texture of the green SiC color is changed when the different nanostructures are apparent. The ~600nm SiC nanostructures are replicated on polymer through a process flow that involved hot embossing and galvanization. The resulted polymer structures have similar average height and exhibit more rounded edges than the initial SiC nanostructures. The polymer surface becomes antireflective and hydrophobic after nanostructuring. The contact angle changes from 68 (bare) to 123 (nanostructured) degrees. The optical effect on the polymer surface can be maximized by applying a thin aluminum (Al) layer coating on the nanostructures (bare polymer reflectance 11%, nanostructured polymer reflectance 5%, Al coated nanostructured polymer reflectance 3%). The optical measurements were performed with an integrating sphere and a spectrometer. The contact angles were measured with a drop shape analyzer. The nanostructures were characterized with scanning electron microscopy.

Optical devices with features exhibiting ultra low reflectivity on the order of 10-7 specular reflectance in the visible spectrum are required for coronagraph instruments and some spectrometers employed in space research. Nanofabrication technologies have been developed to produce such devices with various shapes and feature dimensions to meet these requirements. Infrared reflection is also suppressed significantly with chosen wafers and processes. Particularly, devices with very high (>0.9) and very low reflectivity (<10-7) on adjacent areas have been fabricated and characterized. Significantly increased surface area due to the long needle like nano structures also provides some unique applications in other technology areas. We present some of the approaches, challenges and achieved results in producing and characterizing such devices currently employed in laboratory testbeds and instruments.

Three-dimensional photonic crystals (PCs) are periodic materials with a modulated refractive index on a length scale close to the light wavelength. This optical property allows the preparation of specific optical components like highly reflective mirrors. Moreover, these structured materials are known to have a high laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) in the sub-nanosecond range compared to multi-layered dielectric mirrors. This property is obtained because only one high LIDT material (silica) is used. The second material used in the layer stack is replaced by air. In this work, we present the development of 3D PCs with narrow-sized colloidal silica particles, prepared by sol-gel process and deposited with Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Different syntheses routes have been investigated and compared regarding the optical properties of the PCs. Finally a numerical model based on an ideal opal network including defect influence is used to explain these experimental results.

A potential materials system that may play a key role in IR spectroscopy applications is PbSe/Pb_0.934 Sr_0.066Se quantum well structure. In this work, the characteristic temperature (T₀) relationship with laser cavity length was studied for this material system at three temperature ranges 77<T<150 K, 150<T<300 K, and 77<T<300 K. It was noticed that T₀ is high for short cavity lengths then decreases to an almost constant value after some critical length. The data were best fitted to a second degree polynomials which can be used to determine these critical values. Also, we analyzed the effects of quantum efficiency on the characteristic temperature values. Inclusion of theoretical values for the quantum efficiency due to Auger recombination and leakage current reduces the characteristic temperature T₀ in these ranges. It was found that inclusion of the quantum efficiency decreases the characteristic temperature by 60% for a wide range of cavity lengths.

We proposed and demonstrated a new all-polymer based fabrication process for an all-polymer flexible and parallel optical interconnect cable in which a vertical light coupler is integrated. The approach potentially cut down the cost by eliminating a metallization process for alignment of multiple masks. Throughout the process we used a polyimide as the substrate, coated by Epoclad as claddings, then AP2210B and WPR 5100 were used to fabricate waveguides and 45 degree mirror couplers, respectively. In addition, precisely aligned mirror couplers to waveguides are achieved by using polymer-based, non-metallic, and transparent phase-based alignment marks. We tested a feature specific phase-based alignment system. In addition, the shape and depth of the phase-based alignment marks are optimized for phase contrast and Schlieren imaging. Our results shows that a contrast of the image is enhanced compared to that of observed by a conventional imaging system. Such process enables to integrate polymer based waveguides by only using the polymer based alignment marks on the WPR 5100 layer.

This paper discusses the pulse signal of a novel opto-mechanical zeroth-order grating transducer based on an anomalous diffraction phenomenon, Wood’s type anomaly and its corresponding tolerance analysis. In this device, tiny changes in the displacement of the nanostructured grating elements lead to a dramatic increase or decrease of the optical reflection amplitude. With this special feature, this structure is ideal to measure very small displacement. Unexpectedly, the original sinusoidal signal of the device develops into a new signal form, i.e. pulse signal with the decrease of the air gap between two layers of gratings. Thus the sensitivity of the structure is improved 8 times higher, as the slope of the pulse signal, namely 2.5%/nm, i.e. 0.65dB/nm, is 8 times higher than that of the original signal form, namely 0.3%/nm, i.e. 0.03dB/nm. However, this device is very sensitive to parameters including wavelength, period, duty ratio, air gap as well as thickness of the gratings. Thus, in this paper the performance of the structures with different parameter settings is analyzed and optimized through rigorous coupled wavelength analysis (RCWA) and 3-D finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. All the calculated data enables us to apply the structure into fields required for different sensitivities with different values of grating parameters and thus broadens the further usage of such novel structure. In addition, a synthetic tolerance analysis of the pulse signal is conducted and indicates the possibility of achieving an actual device with the highest slope superior to 0.5%/nm is close to 85% and the possibility that the highest slope of an actual device falls in the interval ranging from 1.0%/nm to 2.0%/nm is 64%. All the simulated data enables us to get a better understanding of the tolerance of the pulse signal and a guidance of successful realization of an actual device.

An analysis of the dispersion relation of SiO_x submicron optical waveguides in the visible and IR spectral range is presented. Here is considered that the refractive index (n) of SiO_x can be tuned in the range from n=1.457-2 for 2>x>1, and a film thickness from 50nm to 1000nm. Starting from the dispersion relation and the distribution of the electric field in the waveguide; cutoff wavelength, cutoff thickness, effective refractive index, effective guide thickness and confinement factor of a selected mode are calculated.

Multispectral imaging beyond the three RGB colors still remains a challenge, especially in portable inexpensive systems. In this paper, we describe the design and fabrication of broadband multichroic filters that have a sinusoidal transmission spectra to utilize a novel methodology based on the Fourier spectral reconstruction in the frequency domain. Since the spectral filters are posed as an optimal sampling of hyperspectral images, they also allow for the reconstruction of the full spectrum from subsequent demosaicking algorithms. Unlike conventional Color Filter Arrays (CFA) which utilizes absorption dyes embedded in a polymeric material, the sinusoidal multichroic filters require an all-dielectric interference filter design. However, the goal of most dielectric filter designs is to achieve sharp transitions with high-contrast. A smoothly varying sinusoidal transition is more difficult with conventional approaches. However, this can be achieved by trading off the contrast. Following the principles of a simple Fabry-Perot cavity, we have designed and built interference filters from 0.5 sinusoidal periods to 3 sinusoidal periods from 450nm to 900nm spectral range. Also, in order to maintain a uniform period across the entire spectrum, the material must have a very low dispersion. In this design, we have used ZnS as the cavity material. The six filters have been used in a multispectral imaging test bed.

This work investigates the relationship between the Q factor of a silica-microsphere coated with nonlinear optical molecules and the surface density of the molecules. Two types of nonlinear molecules are studied: poly {1-[p-(3′-carboxy-4’-hydroxyphenylazo) benzenesulfonamido]-1, 2-ethandiyl} (PCBS), and Procion Brown MX-GRN (PB). In our experiments, we coat silica microspheres with ionic self-assembled multilayer (ISAM) films with different thickness values as well as different PCBS/PB chromophore densities. The Q factors of the coated microspheres are limited to the range of 106-107, which can be attributed to the optical absorption of the coated chromophores. This work can be used to experimentally determine the effective density of chromophores assembled on the silica microsphere. It may also find applications in chemical / biological sensing.

A major problem in the optical lithography was the diffraction limit. Here, we report and demonstrate a lithography method, Quantum Optical Lithography [1,2], able to attain 1 nm resolution by optical means using new materials (fluorescent photosensitive glass-ceramics and QMC-5 resist). The performance is several times better than that described for any optical or Electron Beam Lithography (EBL) methods. In Fig. 1 we present TEM images of 1 nm lines recorded at 9.6 m/s. a) b) Fig. 1 TEM images of: a) multiple 1 nm lines written in a fluorescent photosensitive glass-ceramics sample; b) single 1 nm line written in QMC-5 resist. References [1] E. Pavel, S. Jinga, B.S. Vasile, A. Dinescu, V. Marinescu, R. Trusca and N. Tosa, “Quantum Optical Lithography from 1 nm resolution to pattern transfer on silicon wafer“, Optics and Laser Technology, 60 (2014) 80-84. [2] E. Pavel, S. Jinga, E. Andronescu, B.S. Vasile, G. Kada, A. Sasahara, N. Tosa, A. Matei, M. Dinescu, A. Dinescu and O.R. Vasile, “2 nm Quantum Optical Lithography“, Optics Communications,291 (2013) 259–263

Making use of a newly established nanomasking technique, nanoscale features (sub-10 nm) have been fabricated with the potential to act as plasmonic enhancement structures. The technique makes use of a two-step lithography process to simultaneously produce many plasmonic hotspots with two-dimensional features over a large area, showing promise for mass production scalability. This technique is highly reproducible, reliably patterning multiple nanostructures and nanogaps over a potentially wafer-scale area without significantly increasing the number of steps required. Fabrication results show promise for scalability towards applications such as biosensing, photovoltaics, and enhanced spectroscopies.

We have introduce optomechanical nanoantennae, which showed dramatic changes in scattering properties by minuscule changes in geometry. These structures are very compact, with a volume 500 times smaller than free space optical wavelength volume. Through these optical elements, far-field can directly control the near-field of antenna by mechanical reconfiguration. Here we present the functionality of the optomechanical nanoantenna and challenges in fabricating and measuring these devices.

Flat transmissive lens designs for infrared sensor applications based on sub-wavelength gratings were analyzed using a finite difference time domain program (Lumerical). An initial design for broadband transmission with a design wavelength of 4μm exhibited a drop in the transmittance for large incidence angles that caused defocusing. This was investigated numerically and a phenomenological explanation is presented. The sub- wavelength structure was then optimized to work also for large incidence angles. The focal spot of the proposed lens was characterized using a finite element method package (Comsol).

As a high-precision servo motion platform, the dual-stage lithographic system uses lots of long-stroke air-bearing linear motors to achieve rapid positioning. Residual vibration, resulting from direct drive, almost zero damping, parallel decoupling structure and high velocity, leads to too long settling time and is one of the key factors in slowing the speed of positioning. To suppress the residual vibration and realize the high positioning precision in shorter settling time, this paper designs feedforward controller with input shaping algorithm for the rotary motor. Traditional input shaper is sensitive to system models and it is very difficult to get the parameters. A parameter self-learning method based on PSO(Particle Swarm Optimization) is proposed in this paper. The simulation of the system is performed by MATLAB/Simulation. The experimental results indicate that the input shaping algorithm proposed in this paper brings about significant reduction in the positioning time of the dual-stage.

This is the fourth part of a series of tutorial papers discussing various causes of measurement uncertainty in scanned particle beam instruments, and some of the solutions researched and developed at NIST and other research institutions. Scanned particle beam instruments especially the scanning electron microscope (SEM) have gone through tremendous evolution to become indispensable tools for many and diverse scientifi c and industrial applications. These improvements have signifi cantly enhanced their performance and made them far easier to operate. But, the ease of operation has also fostered operator complacency. In addition, the user-friendliness has reduced the apparent need for extensive operator training. Unfortunately, this has led to the idea that the SEM is just another expensive "digital camera" or another peripheral device connected to a computer and that all of the problems in obtaining good quality images and data have been solved. Hence, one using these instruments may be lulled into thinking that all of the potential pitfalls have been fully eliminated and believing that, everything one sees on the micrograph is always correct. But, as described in this and the earlier papers, this may not be the case. Care must always be taken when reliable quantitative data are being sought. The fi rst paper in this series discussed some of the issues related to signal generation in the SEM, including instrument calibration, electron beam-sample interactions and the need for physics-based modeling to understand the actual image formation mechanisms to properly interpret SEM images. The second paper has discussed another major issue confronting the microscopist: specimen contamination and methods to eliminate it. The third paper discussed mechanical vibration and stage drift and some useful solutions to mitigate the problems caused by them, and here, in this the fourth contribution, the issues related to specimen "charging" and its mitigation are discussed relative to dimensional metrology.

Periodic nanostructure arrays have been ubiquitously exploited lately due to their properties and prospective applications in production of templates for self-induced and gold (Au)-catalysed nanowires (NWs), because this approach is relatively cheap, time-efficient and do not require electron beam lithography. The technique consists creating nanoholes in SiO₂ to expose the silicon Si (111) beneath where self-induced NWs can nucleate, while nanodots deposited onto the Si (111) surface serve as catalyst seeds. For Au-catalysed NWs, a monolayer of self-assembled polystyrene nanospheres (PNS 300nm) was created on a 2 inch Si wafer by spin coating and later etched for a short time before a very thin Au-catalyst layer was deposited. In turn, for self-induced, PNS monolayer was created onto a SiO₂-Si substrate. A longer etch was required to reduce PNS diameter significantly to leave relatively larger spacing where chromium is blanket deposited. PNS were lifted off by sonicating the samples in toluene produce the periodic arrays of nanodots and nanoholes, respectively. The underlying SiO₂ was etched further through the nanoholes to uncover the Si below. 200 nm holes and 30-70 nm dots were demonstrated through the bespoke methods. The patterned substrates served as master templates, subsequently copied using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to produce a flexible stamp for nanoimprint lithography. A bilayer resist lift off process was developed to print the replicated nanodots or nanoholes on large-area substrates onto which III-V NWs can be grown.

This work focuses on the scalable synthesis and processing of nanostructures in polymer matrix nanocomposites (PMNCs) for applications that require photochemical functionality of these nanostructures. An in situ vapor deposition process using various metal and metal oxide precursors has been used to create a range of nanocomposites that display photochromic and photocatalytic behaviors. Under specific processing conditions, these composites consist of discrete nanoparticles distributed uniformly throughout the bulk of an optically transparent polymer matrix. Incorporating other chemical species as supplementary deposition agents in the synthesis process can modify these particles and produce complicated nanostructures with enhanced properties. In particular, work has been carried out to structure nanoparticles using laser irradiation. Starting with metallic or metal oxide nanoparticles in the polymer matrix, localized chemical vapor deposition in the near-particle environment has been carried out using laser irradiation to decompose chemical precursors leading to the formation of secondary structures surrounding the seed nanoparticles. Control of the spatial and temporal characteristics of the excitation source allows for synthesis of nanocomposites with a high degree of control over the location, composition and size of nanoparticles in the matrix and presents the opportunity to produce patterned materials with spatially varying properties.

Biological applications can benefit from nanoscale texturing of materials for biomedical functions. Texturing of biomaterials can increase the available surface area so that they can be coated with larger doses of therapeutic agents. We demonstrate nano-texturing of poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) – a prototypical material commonly used for drug-eluting coronary stents and as a template for cell growth. A master pattern consisting of a periodic array was transferred to a PDMS mold. Drop-casting PLLA achieves the best transfer of patterns, with nanoarrays of holes with pitch ~700 nm. Nanoimprinting the PLLA films results in shallower and less resolved features.

The National Science Foundation is meeting the challenge of transitioning lab-scale nanoscience and technology to commercial-scale through several nanomanufacturing-related research programs. The goal of the core Nanomanufacturing (NM) and the inter-disciplinary Scalable Nanomanufacturing (SNM) programs is to meet the barriers to manufacturability at the nano-scale by developing the fundamental principles for the manufacture of nanomaterials, nanostructures, nanodevices, and engineered nanosystems. These programs address issues such as scalability, reliability, quality, performance, yield, metrics, and cost, among others. The NM and SNM programs seek nano-scale manufacturing ideas that are transformative, that will be widely applicable and that will have far-reaching technological and societal impacts. It is envisioned that the results from these basic research programs will provide the knowledge base for larger programs such as the manufacturing Nanotechnology Science and Engineering Centers (NSECs) and the Nanosystems Engineering Research Centers (NERCs). Besides brief descriptions of these different programs, this paper will include discussions on novel

Image processing techniques are needed to extract critical information pertinent to nano material characterization but the current processing methods are slow, expensive and labor intensive. There is a strong need to develop fast and reliable methods, enabling process control compatible automated processing of nano images. The authors believe specialized techniques are needed to address the challenges, and will discuss the recent development of nano image processing methods as well as the near- and medium-terms needs in the area of nano metrology and imaging. The authors will share their broad perspectives on this research direction.

High quality scatterometry standard samples have been developed to improve the tool matching between different scatterometry methods and tools as well as with high resolution microscopic methods such as scanning electron microscopy or atomic force microscopy and to support traceable and absolute scatterometric critical dimension metrology in lithographic nanomanufacturing. First samples based on one dimensional Si or on Si3N4 grating targets have been manufactured and characterized for this purpose. The etched gratings have periods down to 50 nm and contain areas of reduced density to enable AFM measurements for comparison. Each sample contains additionally at least one large area scatterometry target suitable for grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering. We present the current design and the characterization of structure details and the grating quality based on AFM, optical, EUV and X-Ray scatterometry as well as spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements. The final traceable calibration of these standards is currently performed by applying and combining different scatterometric as well as imaging calibration methods. We present first calibration results and discuss the final design and the aimed specifications of the standard samples to face the tough requirements for future technology nodes in lithography.

Evaluation of uncertainties is a critical element in quantitative nano-scale measurements using optical microscopy techniques. Instrument characterization underlies the quantitative evaluation of measurements of deep sub-wavelength features. The scatterfield microscopy technique, which articulates the illumination at the sample plane, is an efficient method for angle- and polarization-resolved microscope characterization to enable the uncertainty evaluations. The tool characterization results are used for the Fourier space normalization of electromagnetic simulation to permit comparisons with experimental imaging data. For this purpose the NIST 193 nm scatterfield microscope operating with an ArF Excimer laser was characterized. The illumination and collection optics were scanned angularly, utilizing a small aperture at the conjugate back focal plane of the objective lens so that the optics train was characterized with respect to angularly discrete cones of the illumination beam. Each cone beam can be approximated as a plane wave by using Köhler configuration, simplifying the analysis of the scattered light induced by the discrete illumination beam at the sample plane. Under this approximation, the illumination and entire tool function sets were measured at sample and imaging CCD planes, respectively, producing the collection tool function set numerically. We report tool imperfection effects upon these tool functions, specifically, comparing to the optical simulations of the designed optical paths varied with misalignments and aberrations that lead to changes in the tool functions. Through these comparisons, we investigate the relationship between the microscope tool imperfection factors to the deviations in the illumination as well as in the collected scattered light.

Laser velocimetry capable of measuring nanoscale motion or displacement normal to vibrational surface is always important in industry and scientific applications. However, measurement sensitivity down to sub-nanometer scale is always a challenge, and utilization of lock-in amplifiers is unavoidable. Measurement is then also limited to single-point detection. Here we report a laser Doppler velocimetry capable of non-contact detection in sub-nanometer scale down to sub-Hertz frequency in a Mach-Zehnder configuration without lock-in amplifiers. Environment perturbation in tens of nanometer scale can be removed by empirical mode decomposition. Lack of lock-in amplifiers promises this technology not limited to single-point detection.

Metal gratings are mostly used on low energy optics, but it has low laser damage threshold. Spectral beam combining is a method to make high power laser beam using diffraction gratings. Multilayer dielectric (MLD) high reflectance mirror is designed for high efficiency gratings using HfO₂ and SiO₂ for high laser damage threshold. On the top of the mirror, polarization dependent SiO₂ grating structure is simulated by finite domain time division (FDTD) method at 1055nm for spectral beam combining. To estimate the far field diffraction characteristics, we first calculate near field electromagnetic wave properties at the substrate region and these are transformed to angular diffraction characteristics at about 1 meter apart from the grating. Multilayer dielectric mirror is deposited by electron beam evaporation method at the substrate temperature 250°C. Four types of high efficiency MLD gratings are selected and these are fabricated by lithography and reactive ion etching method. To fabricate the designed submicron structure, 4X stepper is used for pattern formation on the photo resistor. We use fused silica as a substrate and additional dummy silicon wafer substrates are used for grating structure confirmation using scanning electron microscope. The diffraction efficiencies are measured and these are compared with simulated results.

We demonstrate more advanced length scaling method of aluminum based nanoantennas using waveguide theory and well defined dielectric constant of metals in extremely high frequency such as visible to near-infrared regions (wavelengths from 400 nm to 3000 nm). To verify that our simulation for length scaling is effective in visible to near infrared regions, we fabricated dipole nanoantennas. Furthermore, it is found that experimental results for nanoantenna arrays support our model.

Design of straight and S-bend optical channel waveguides based on silver ion implantation in SiO₂ substrates is presented. 3D Beam Propagation Method (BPM) calculations are used for the design of the waveguides based on step index profiles produced from a sequential multiple ion implantation process. An analysis of modal optical confinement was done by means of the Effective Index Method (EIM) for selecting the right dimensions of the channel waveguides. Core index values between 1.4623-1.4662 are obtained, depending on the fluence, are considered. Depth and width for the waveguides were chosen to provide single mode operation. Bending losses are determined as function of bending radius, refractive index change (Δn), and wavelength.

In the work it is shown practical use of a scanning tunneling microscope for indentation in the continuous micro- and nano-range. A maximum load of 2.64 cN (and 0.4 cN minimum) was applied on a piezo-scanner to achieve the indentation. The relaxation changes of modified surface by contact method was investigated. It is shown that within a few hours of modification there is clear evidence of inevitable loss of information about the morphology of initially modified area. The possibility of modifying the sample surface by tunneling current was shown. This may enable preparation of the surface for subsequent applications in which it is necessary to reduce the average irregularities of the surface. Nano-objects on the surface of the experimental samples were created by using the developed method.

In this paper we focus on the application of the one-dimensional photonic crystal (1D PhC) structures on the top of Al_0.295Ga_0.705As/GaAs multi-quantum well light emitting diode (MQW LED). 1D PhC structures with periods of 600 nm, 700 nm, 800 nm, and 900 nm were fabricated by the E-Beam Direct Write (EBDW) Lithography. Effect of 1D PhC period on the light extraction enhancement was studied. 1D PhC LED radiation profiles were obtained from Near Surface Light Emission Images (NSLEI). Measurements showed the strongest light extraction enhancement using 800 nm period of PhC. Investigation of PhC LED radiation profiles showed strong light decoupling when light reaches PhC structure. Achieved LEE was from 22.6% for 600 nm PhC LED to 47.0% for 800 nm PhC LED. LED with PhC structure at its surface was simulated by FDTD simulation method under excitation of appropriate launch field.

This work investigates the significance of the number of periods in two-dimensional photonic crystals. Models have been developed to study various photonic crystal properties (Reflection, Photonic crystal band gap). The numbers of photonic crystal periods, length of periods, and material properties have been investigated to determine their effect on the losses in the waveguide. The model focuses on a square period and has been designed to study transmission properties and the effects of period length. A finite difference frequency domain (FDFD) model has also been created to calculate the photonic band structure. Additionally, a simplified study focuses on the transmission of light through photonic crystal layers.

This work investigates colloidal, semiconductor Cadmium Selenide (CdSe) QDs with optical spectroscopy measurements. A custom-built microscope has been used for photoluminescence spectroscopy and has collected images, videos, and spectra of samples to study the effects of substrates, sample density, uniformity, and QD aging with time. This set up will be used to detect single to a few molecules, shown by fluorescent intermittency, or QD blinking. Differences in the spectrum will be noted as related to the age of samples, the density of the quantum dots, and the concentration of samples. Further experiments include the potential plasmonic enhancement of QD photoluminescence by gold nanoparticles or nanostructures.

We have developed a EUV scatterometer using a focused high-order harmonic generation (HHG) source for nano-scale grating measurement. The coherent light source with multiple discrete wavelengths of 25-35 nm was pumped by a tabletop Ti:sapphire laser system. A charge-couple-device (CCD) camera directly records the diffraction image of the zero and the first order diffraction information from the grating samples. The grating structure can be reconstructed base on the calculations from the location and the intensity distribution of diffraction pattern.

In this work we study the sensitivity and detection limits of optical reflectivity measurements to inspect the deposition of metallic nanoparticles on a at surface. We use a theoretical model for the coherent reflectance of a disordered monolayer of particles to calculate the reflectivity of an air-glass interface with silver and gold nanoparticles deposited randomly on it as a function of the angle of incidence and wavelength of light. Assuming reasonable noise scenarios, we estimate the minimum detectable surface coverage fractions by the nanoparticles.

We explore using measurements of the effective refractive index of a metallic nanofluid to estimate the size of the particles in it. We assume the nanofluid consists of spherical metallic nanoparticles suspended in a transparent base liquid and discuss a way of measuring the real and imaginary parts of the effective refractive index for concentrated nanofluids to about 1% in particles’ volume concentration. Specifically, we consider the case of copper nanoparticles suspended in water. We propose an unambiguous effective optical parameter as a candidate to evidence the particle size, potentially in real time. Limitations due to dependent scattering effects in concentrated nanofluids are briefly stated.

This paper proposes a novel defect detection method using component tree of SEM images. The component tree contains rich information about the topological structure of images such as stiffness of intensity changes, area, and volume of lobes. The information is effective in detecting suspicious spot of the defects. A quasi-linear algorithm for constructing the component tree and computing those features is available. This paper modifies the original component tree algorithm to be suitable to the defect detection. One idea is excluding the pixels near the ground level in the initial stage of constructing the component tree. The other idea is to detect significant lobes by using both the volume and area attributes. The experiments performed with actual SEM images and printed electronics images showed promising results. For a 1000*1000 image, the proposed algorithm ran whole process in 1.36 seconds.