ACOUSTO-OPTO-MECHANICAL SYSTEMS in PIEZOELECTRIC ALUMINUM NITRIDE NANOFILMS FOR RADIO FREQUENCY PHOTONICS

用于射频光子学的压电氮化铝纳米薄膜中的声光机械系统

• 批准号: 1201659
• 负责人: Gianluca Piazza
• 金额: $ 33.13万
• 依托单位: Carnegie-Mellon University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-07-01 至 2017-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1201659&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ACOUSTO; OPTO; MECHANICAL; SYSTEMS; PIEZOELECTRIC

The objective of this research is to use on-chip acoustics and photonics to produce miniaturized components that offer a very competitive approach for the synthesis of low power radio receivers. The approach consists in developing devices made out of piezoelectric aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films, in which acousto-optic (modulation of optical signals via elastic waves) and opto-mechanical (modulation of mechanical vibrations via radiation pressure) effects are exploited in confined nanoscale resonant structures. The proposed radio frequency (RF)-photonic receiver relies on an AlN piezoelectric micromechanical filter to select the incoming RF signal (electromechanical effect) and modulate the photonic signal (acousto-optic effect). It also uses the intrinsic non-linearity of the self-sustained opto-mechanical oscillator (opto-mechanical effect) to down convert the signal to baseband. The intellectual merit of this proposal consists in addressing the engineering challenges that limit the realization of compact RF-photonics receivers based on exploiting electromechanical, acousto-optic and opto-mechanical effects in AlN films. Scientifically, elasto-optic effects in thin AlN films and noise mechanisms in nanoscale opto-mechanical devices will be understood. Beyond directly impacting wireless communications, the proposed acousto-opto-mechanical platform will benefit the broader field of photonics by enabling visible and deep ultraviolet components that could be employed for medical applications. Simultaneously, the high mechanical displacement sensitivity attained via acousto-optic modulators can be transferred to inertial and pressure sensors to enhance their resolution. More broadly, the knowledge generated by these research activities will set the pathway for the synthesis of low power distributed communication links and will enable new generations of sensor networks.

这项研究的目的是使用片上的声学和光子学来生成微型成分，这些组件为低功率无线电接收器提供了非常有竞争力的方法。该方法包括开发由压电铝（ALN）薄膜制成的设备，其中大量机械波（通过弹性波对光学信号调节）和光学机械（通过辐射压力调节机械振动）在限制的效果中受到纳米级共振结构。提出的射频（RF） - 光子接收器依赖于ALN压电微机械滤波器选择传入的RF信号（机电效应）并调节光子信号（声音效应）。它还使用自我维持的光学机械振荡器（光学机械效应）的内在非线性将信号转换为基带。该提案的智力优点在于解决工程挑战，这些挑战限制了基于ALN膜中利用机电，声学和光学机械效应的实现紧凑型RF-Photonics接收器的实现。 从科学上讲，将了解纳米级光学机械设备中的薄ALN膜和噪声机制的弹性效应。 除了直接影响无线通信外，拟议的声音机械平台还将通过启用可见的和深层的紫外线组件来使更广泛的光子学领域受益。同时，可以将通过声学调节器获得的高机械位移灵敏度转移到惯性和压力传感器上，以增强其分辨率。更广泛地说，这些研究活动产生的知识将为综合低功率分布式通信链接的途径树立途径，并将实现新一代的传感器网络。