USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Vanderbilt University

University of California

Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc.

Third Floor Materials, Inc.

Joshua D Caldwell

Orest J Glembocki

Karl D Hobart

Jeffrey C Owrutsky

James Peter Long

Igor Vurgaftman

Marko J Tadjer

Jon-Paul Maria

Virginia D Wheeler

Marc Currie

Francis J Kub

Travis J Anderson

Tatyana I Feygelson

Sharka M Prokes

Thomas G Folland

Mikko Ritala

Andrew D Koehler

Michael Anthony Mastro

Vincent Gambin

Ioulia Smorchkova

Robert E Stahlbush

James E Butler

Bradford B Pate

Mark Goorsky

Edward Sachet

Jaakko Niinisto

Richard Forsberg Haglund

Ronald W Rendell

Gregory Todd Lewis

Rajinder S Sandhu

Christopher Shelton

Eugene I Imhoff

Kendrick X Liu

Jeff McKay

Maarit Kariemi

Eero Santala

Yohannes Abate

Devices and methods for non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensing are disclosed. In one aspect, a non-dispersive infrared sensor is disclosed which, in one embodiment includes a nanophotonic infrared emitting metamaterial (NIREM) emitter configured to selectively emit radiation corresponding to a respective vibrational resonance frequency for each of a plurality of different analytes of interest. The broadband detector can be configured to detect photons associated with vibrational resonance of each of the plurality of analytes of interest in response to the emitted radiation from the NIREM emitter, in order to determine properties of one or more of the analytes of interest.

Filterless non-dispersive infrared sensing devices and methods

Metallic and dielectric domains in phase change materials (PCM) provide spatially localized changes in the local dielectric environment, enabling launching, reflection, and transmission of hyperbolic polaritons (HPs) at the PCM domain boundaries, and tuning the wavelength of HPs propagating in hyperbolic materials over these domains, providing a methodology for realizing planar, sub-diffractive refractive optics. This approach offers reconfigurable control of in-plane HP propagation to provide design optical functionality because the phase change material can be manipulated by changing the local structure, for example, to manipulate polaritons in the adjacent hyperbolic material, thus tuning the wave propagation properties of the polaritons in the hyperbolic material.

Actively reconfigurable, hyperbolic metasurfaces

A plasmonic grating sensor having periodic arrays of vertically aligned plasmonic nanopillars, nanowires, or both with an interparticle pitch ranging from &#x3bb;/8-2&#x3bb;, where &#x3bb; is the incident wavelength of light divided by the effective index of refraction of the sample; a coupled-plasmonic array sensor having vertically aligned periodic arrays of plasmonically coupled nanopillars, nanowires, or both with interparticle gaps sufficient to induce overlap between the plasmonic evanescent fields from neighboring nanoparticles, typically requiring edge-to-edge separations of less than 20 nm; and a plasmo-photonic array sensor having a double-resonant, periodic array of vertically aligned subarrays of 1 to 25 plasmonically coupled nanopillars, nanowires, or both where the subarrays are periodically spaced at a pitch on the order of a wavelength of light.

Three-dimensional coherent plasmonic nanowire arrays for enhancement of optical processes

IR emission devices comprising an array of polaritonic IR emitters arranged on a substrate, where the emitters are coupled to a heater configured to provide heat to one or more of the emitters. When the emitters are heated, they produce an infrared emission that can be polarized and whose spectral emission range, emission wavelength, and/or emission linewidth can be tuned by the polaritonic material used to form the elements of the array and/or by the size and/or shape of the emitters. The IR emission can be modulated by the induction of a strain into a ferroelectric, a change in the crystalline phase of a phase change material and/or by quickly applying and dissipating heat applied to the polaritonic nanostructure. The IR emission can be designed to be hidden in the thermal background so that it can be observed only under the appropriate filtering and/or demodulation conditions.

Frequency- and amplitude-modulated narrow-band infrared emitters

Frequency- and amplitude- modulated narrow-band infrared emitters

Optical devices that include one or more structures fabricated from polar-dielectric materials that exhibit surface phonon polaritons (SPhPs), where the SPhPs alter the optical properties of the structure. The optical properties lent to these structures by the SPhPs are altered by introducing charge carriers directly into the structures. The carriers can be introduced into these structures, and the carrier concentration thereby controlled, through optical pumping or the application of an appropriate electrical bias.

Actively tunable polar-dielectric optical devices

A metamaterial thin film with plasmonic properties formed by depositing metallic films by atomic layer deposition onto a substrate to form a naturally occurring mosaic-like nanostructure having two-dimensional features with air gaps between the two-dimensional features. Due to the unique deposition nanostructure, plasmonic thin films of metal or highly conducting materials can be produced on any substrate, including fabrics and biological materials. In addition, these plasmonic materials can be used in conjunction with geometric patterns that may be used to create multiple resonance plasmonic metamaterials.

Metamaterial thin films

A method for fabricating a semiconductor device, such as a GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) device, including etching a thermal via into a back-side of a semiconductor substrate and depositing a diamond nucleation seed layer across the back-side of the substrate. The method further includes coating the diamond nucleation with a mask layer and removing mask material outside of the thermal via on the planar portions of the back-side of the substrate. The method includes removing portions of the diamond nucleation layer on the planar portions and then removing the remaining portion of the mask material in the thermal via. The method then includes depositing a bulk diamond layer within the thermal via on the remaining portion of the diamond nucleation layer so that diamond only grows in the thermal via and not on the planar portions of the substrate.

Selective deposition of diamond in thermal vias

A method for reducing graphene film thickness on a donor substrate and transferring graphene films from a donor substrate to a handle substrate includes applying a bonding material to the graphene on the donor substrate, releasing the bonding material from the donor substrate thereby leaving graphene on the bonding material, applying the bonding material with graphene onto the handle substrate, and releasing the bonding material from the handle substrate thereby leaving the graphene on the handle substrate. The donor substrate may comprise SiC, metal foil or other graphene growth substrate, and the handle substrate may comprise a semiconductor or insulator crystal, semiconductor device, epitaxial layer, flexible substrate, metal film, or organic device.

Method for the reduction of graphene film thickness and the removal and transfer of epitaxial graphene films from SiC substrates

A heterojunction between thin films of NCD and 4H&#x2014;SiC was developed. Undoped and B-doped NCDs were deposited on both n&#x2212; and p&#x2212; SiC epilayers. I-V measurements on p+ NCD/n&#x2212; SiC indicated Schottky rectifying behavior with a turn-on voltage of around 0.2 V. The current increased over eight orders of magnitude with an ideality factor of 1.17 at 30&#xb0; C. Ideal energy-band diagrams suggested a possible conduction mechanism for electron transport from the SiC conduction band to either the valence band or acceptor level of the NCD film.

Transparent nanocrystalline diamond contacts to wide bandgap semiconductor devices

A method of reversing Shockley stacking fault expansion includes providing a bipolar or a unipolar SiC device exhibiting forward voltage drift caused by Shockley stacking fault nucleation and expansion. The SiC device is heated to a temperature above 150&#xb0; C. A current is passed via forward bias operation through the SiC device sufficient to induce at least a partial recovery of the forward bias drift.

Method of mediating forward voltage drift in a SiC device

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Accokeek, MD, United States of America

Joshua D Caldwell