Physics and Optical Science at University of North Carolina at Charlotte

  

Contact Info
Address:  9201 University City Blvd
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001
USA
Phone:  (704) 687-2537
Fax:  (704) 687-3160
Email:  egbutler@email.uncc.edu
Website:  http://www.physics.uncc.edu/
Chair: Dr. Faramarz Farahi
 
General Department Info
Degrees
Offered:		  Bachelors Masters
Staff & Student
Numbers:		  Faculty: 15
Staff: 4
Post Docs: 0
Grads: 25
Under Grads: 35
Research
Areas:		  The optics research program at UNC Charlotte is an interdisciplinary program involving six science and engineering departments [Physics & Optical Science, Chemistry, Mathematics, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering & Engineering Science, and Computer Science], the Center for Optoelectronics & Optical Communications, and the Center for Precision Metrology. The purpose of the program is to educate scientists and engineers who will lead research necessary to develop the next generation of optical technology. The program, central to the success of UNC Charlotte?s Center for Optoelectronics & Optical Communications and the Charlotte Institute for Technology Innovation, will support the explosive growth of optics-related industry in the Charlotte region. Optics areas of research include: ? Optoelectronic devices and sub-assemblies ? Devices for telecommunications, sensors, and characterization ? Optical materials (semiconductors, polymer-organic and crystalline) ? Optical metrology ? Optical imaging ? Optical communication networks with applications in: ? Optical telecom and data-com ? High efficiency, tunable narrow bandwidth laser sources and detectors ? Smart structures for distributed sensing ? Wireless technologies for communications and remote sensing ? Materials and surface characterization ? Nanostructured optical devices ? Microelectronics ? Medical diagnostics The Physics Department also has an active research program in observational astronomy.
Facilities:  The current microelectronics fabrication laboratory has 3000 square feet of class 1000 clean room space. This laboratory includes all of the necessary facilities to fabricate complex devices and integrated circuits. The fabrication laboratory includes 8 high temperature furnaces manufactured by Corso-Gray, Thermco, and Lindberg. These furnaces are used for high purity silicon oxidations, n and p type doping and diffusion, and high temperature anneals. The lab has complete photolithography capability including wafer spin coating, direct contact mask exposure with a HTG contact mask aligner, and developing facilities. Etching is accomplished with either wet chemical etching or plasma techniques using a Technics Micro-Plasma series 900 plasma system or an IBM designed reactive ion etch tool. Metal thin films can be vacuum deposited with a Cooke thermal evaporator, Cooke e-beam evaporator, Varian 3125 4 pocket e-beam evaporator, a CHA Mark 50 rf induction evaporator, or a CVC AST-601 3 target sputtering tool. The lab includes various inspection microscopes and measurement tools including a Nanometrics Nanopsec AFT 200 automatic thickness tool, Tencor Alpha Step 200 surface profiler, and a Dektak IIA surface profiler. A K&S 4125 gold wire ball bonder is also available. A Micromanipulator probe station with Tektronix 576 curve tracer is available for electrical measurements. Four MBE (molecular beam epitaxy) systems are used for advanced materials research. The MBE systems are pumped be either cryogenic or turbomolecular high vacuum pumps and have various deposition sources for individual or co-deposition operations. III-V and II-IV materials are currently under investigation. Two SEM (scanning electron microscopes), a TEM (transmission electron microscope), an AFM (atomic force microscope), and a Raman spectrometer are available for advanced analysis. Equipment in the Cameron Applied Research Center for Precision Metrology includes ? Nanoscope II, Tencor AFM, Omicron STM ? Renishaw, HP and Optodyne stabilized lasers and metrology systems ? OGP optical CMM ? Werth Inspector Optical CMM ? Tropel CM25 Cylindrical Interferometer ? Wyko RST surface interferometer ? Zygo Axiom Interferometer Specialized High Speed Metrology System ? Zygo Mark IV Flatness Interferometer ? Zygo Maxim 3-D Surface interferometer ? Zygo White Light Scanning Interferometer ? Precitech Nanoform 250 Diamond Turning Machine (Optics Manufacture) Lasers and electronic instrumentation available includes ? Picosecond Ti:Sapphire Laser (mode-locked) 600 mW average power, 100 MHz rate with a 5W Ar+- Ion pump laser, ? Intra-cavity frequency-doubled Ar+-UV- laser ( 8 W fundamental ), 12 mW UV ? High peak power Nd:YAG laser with 2nd , 3rd , and 4th Harmonic generation, and tunable dye-laser ? High-resolution spectrometer, ? Fiber-Optic Spectrometer, ? dual channel 1GHz digital Oscilloscope, and high-speed digital pulse generators, ? Optical Spectrum Analyzer (HP Model 71450B), ? Near-field scanning optical microscope ? VCSEL Characterization Station, mounting & positioning hardware and optical components, Probe-station and microprobes, CCD-cameras and, accessories ? Laser drivers, Low-noise power supplies, Optical power meters, Nonlinear crystals, filters, assortment of optical and electronic components & accessories. ? Lasers: Argon , YAG, Nd. YVO4, Xenon ? Electronic and optical measuring devices: Spectrum analyzers, amplifiers, OTDR, etc. Additional space to become available upon completion of the 92,000 sq. ft. building designed to house UNC Charlotte?s optical science and engineering program include (1) a fully equipped 3800 sq. ft. class 10,000 clean room, (2) research laboratories and office to accommodate as many as 50 research faculty and 100 graduate students, (3) four classrooms, and (4) the six additional infrastructure facilities: ? Optoelectronic and Optical Device Fabrication Facility ? Optical Characterization and Measurement Facility ? Optical Metrology Facility ? Optical Communication Infrastructure Facility ? Clean Room Facility ? Optical Imaging and Visualization Facility ? Education and Training Facility