This award is for the support of a collaborative research project between Dr. Gary Tuttle, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Dr. Kai-Ming Ho, Professor, Department of Physics, both at Iowa State University, in Ames, and Dr. Ekmel Ozbay, Associate Professor of Physics at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. The two teams plan to conduct experimental and theoretical research in the area of photonic band gap materials. Using a layer-by-layer photonic band gap structure (which was invented and experimentally demonstrated at Iowa State) as a basis, they propose to work on three different topics related to photonic crystals: resonant cavity-enhanced (RCE) detectors, metallic photonic crystals at millimeter and infrared wavelengths, and fabrication of three dimensional structures at infrared wave scale. Scope: The collaboration of the two research groups in the US and Turkey is expected to lead to the development of new experimental and theoretical tools which will be used to understand the characteristics of these new materials. Such understanding will help in the design of photonic crystals and in developing new applications in millimeter-wave, infrared, and visible wavelengths such as very-sensitive detectors, millimeter-wave antennas, and thresholdless semiconductor lasers. The outcome of this collaboration is expected to be scientifically and technically beneficial to both countries. This project is funded jointly by the Division of International Programs and the Division of Electrical and Communication Systems.
