9315773 Lau This research addresses fundamental materials science issues surrounding the concept of utilizing the photoelastic effect for control and stabilization of stresses in metallic stressor films, which can also serve as electrodes. The objectives are to introduce controllable and stable strains into semiconductor systems by means of metal-semiconductor and metal-metal reactions, and to provide the materials science basis for tailoring films to make wave guides on binary and ternary substrates such as InP, GaAs, and GaInAs. Two approaches are being pursued: (l) Introduction of stable strain by metal-substrate reactions. This approach relies on the volume change in the structure due to the reaction between the metallic stressor layer and the substrate; the reaction product is also metallic in conductivity; (2) Introduction of strain by metal-metal interactions. The stressor is formed by reacting two deposited metallic layers on the substrate to form a strained epitaxial layer. These approaches and the basic studies of materials science issues associated with the chemical and physical processes are expected to provide the basis for simplifying and improving planarized photonic devices. %%% Light guiding is commonly experienced when we shine light onto a stream of water and observe that the light follows the water stream. This phenomenon is very important for high speed and large volume communication. This project investigates innovative and efficient ways to make improved and simplified lightguides in the basic materials used in telecommunications, information processing, and computing.
