Professor Paul Braun, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is leading a team of researchers investigating self-assembly of 3-D multifunctional ceramic composites for photonics and sensors.
The objective of this U.S. Army Research Office Multi-disciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) is to enable the formation of exquisitely controlled, 3-D structures from colloidal particles, sol-gel precursors, and biological molecules in order to develop the multifunctionality required for a diverse array of optical devices and sensors.
Photonic crystal theory, including unique large-scale computational tools for full-vector electromagnetic simulations, will provide the foundation for designing unique and optimized photonic bandgap materials. State-of-the-art computational algorithms and materials science will be used to guide the development of the following complementary processing and assembly strategies:
• New colloidal self-assembly routes that combine nanoparticle- and DNA- mediated colloidal assembly with colloidal epitaxy to create colloidal crystals with exact orientation with respect to a substrate and defined crystal symmetries;
• Multi-beam ceramic holography as a route to 3-D nano- and micro- scale periodic ceramics;
• Ceramic/liquid crystal composite optical switches;
• UV and multiphoton patterning of sol-gel ceramic precursors as a route to sub micron engineered ceramic structures; and
• Robotically controlled deposition of ceramic nanoparticle-polymer composites.
The investigation is noted in 2009 ARO in Review, a U.S. Army Research Office publication of on-going materials research for military and civilian applications.
