The objective of this research is to devise novel fabrication technology for optoelectronic circuits based on photonic crystals which can produce entire wafers of devices simultaneously. Photonic crystals are recently discovered structures which offer the potential to guide and control light with unprecedented precision, but fabrication of these crystals has required the individual definition of each element (typically a ~300nm hole in a Si substrate). The proposed approach is to use either holographic multi-exposure lithography, or self-aligned templating of polystyrene spheres, to form arrays of photonic crystals in parallel. This will allow wafers full of devices to be formed in parallel, just as integrated circuits and lasers are fabricated now. Although some flexibility is lost with these methods, many of the novel capabilities of these photonic crystals are still available. Realization of a practical, parallelizable way to fabricate photonic crystal lightwave circuits will transform them from a scientific curiosity into a commercial technique. These circuits address many of the device needs of telecommunications and will lead to more efficient use of fiber bandwidth and cheaper and faster information transfer. This technology can make photonic crystal manufacturing commercially feasible and contribute to the United States' global competitiveness in optoelectronics technology. The educational benefits include hands-on graduate student training and direct classroom dissemination. In addition, laboratory demonstrations of this exciting technology will also be an exceptional recruiting tool in attracting undergraduates unsure of their major, or graduate students unsure of their area of interest, to the fields of Electrical Engineering and optoelectronics.
