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*****For immediate use November 15th, 2001
Researchers at the NEC Research Institute Grow Gemstone Opals on a Chip to Create Photonic Materials for Future Optical Telecommunication and Computing
-Inexpensive and Technology-Friendly Route to Silicon 'Photonic Band Gap Crystals' - Materials that Can Manipulate Light-
PRINCETON, NJ, November 15, 2001 - Researchers at the NEC Research Institute (NECI) and Princeton University today announced a breakthrough in the development of photonic band gap crystals. The researchers have demonstrated a simple and inexpensive process to obtain these materials, which are needed to create the next generation of photonic devices for telecommunication and computing.
The complete findings of the study are published in the current issue of the scientific journal, Nature.
Photonic band gap crystals are materials that are three-dimensionally periodic on a length scale comparable to the wavelength of light (about 0.5 micrometers, approximately 1/100th the width of a human hair). When light strikes these structures, it can be reflected in new directions. Thus, properly designed photonic band gap crystals allow light to be manipulated as it travels through the material.
Photonic band gap crystals have potential for the formation of all-optical integrated circuits - ultra compact 'chips' that are able to manipulate photonic signals. Since much of our telephone and internet traffic is transmitted as pulses of light along optical fibers, these photonic circuits are needed to replace the large and expensive devices that currently control signals over optical networks. Such circuits have not been realized due to difficulties in making photonic band gap crystals.
"While we now know many practical applications for photonic band gap crystals, the real challenge has been to fabricate them," said Dr. David Norris, research scientist and leader of the NECI research effort on photonic band gap crystals. "Previous approaches have succeeded in obtaining these materials, but they have either been too expensive or resulted in a material that was impractical for producing useful photonic devices. This is the problem that we have tried to address."
The research was conducted by Dr. Norris and Dr. Yurii Vlasov of the NEC Research Institute in collaboration with Prof. James Sturm and Mr. Xiang-Zheng Bo of Princeton University. Their approach begins by emulating a natural process, the formation of gemstone opals. Under certain geological conditions, nature spontaneously forms extremely small silica spheres, like tiny glass marbles. When millions of these micrometer-scale marbles are stacked on top of each other, a natural opal is created. Prior work had shown that not only could such opals be grown in the laboratory, but that they could be used to make photonic band gap crystals. By filling the space between the spheres with a semiconductor and then selectively removing the spheres, an extremely porous material, referred to as an inverted opal, could be obtained. NECI used this "natural assembly" approach to form planar synthetic opals directly on a silicon wafer. They then used common silicon deposition equipment to fill this planar opal with silicon. Removal of the opal template then yields silicon inverted opals.
"With our approach we obtain silicon photonic band gap crystals that are integrated directly onto the wafer," said Dr. Vlasov. "Once on the wafer, it is possible to use many of the standard tools of the electronics industry to pattern the material into a photonic device. Therefore, while maintaining the low cost of natural assembly, we have fabricated a photonic band gap crystal in a technology friendly format."
The NECI-Princeton team's research also addressed the existence of the photonic band gap in their structures. Researchers have been concerned that natural assembly could lead to too many defects in the structure, which could destroy the photonic band gap. "To address this issue, we have performed careful optical measurements," said Dr. Norris. "While further work needs to be done, so far all of the results are consistent with the photonic band gap. This means that by using a very simple chemical approach, these complex, technologically relevant materials can be made."
The next challenge will be to utilize the materials that have been demonstrated to make an actual device. "We still have a long way to go, but this is an important demonstration that natural assembly has significant potential," said Dr. Norris. "In the near future we hope to push it even further."
About NEC Research Institute
NEC Research Institute, founded in 1988 and based in Princeton, conducts basic research in the areas of computer and physical sciences. Its major research elements include Web computing; robust computing; intelligence; vision and language; devices; materials; optics; nano physics; biophysics, theoretical computer sciences and physics. For more information about the Institute, please visit its Web site at http://www.neci.nj.nec.com.
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.l) is a leading provider of Internet solutions, dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of its customers in the key computer, network and electron device fields through its three market-focused in-house companies: NEC Solutions, NEC Networks and NEC Electron Devices. NEC Corporation, with its in-house companies, employs more than 150,000 people worldwide and saw net sales of 4,991 billion Yen (approx. US$48 billion) in fiscal year 1999-2000. For further information, please visit the NEC home page at: http://www.nec.com.
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