In this work, we study the use of a spatial light modulator (SLM) for local manipulation of phase in interfering laser beams to fabricate photonic crystal templates with embedded, engineered defects. A SLM displaying geometric phase patterns was used as a digitally programmable phase mask to fabricate 4-fold and 6-fold symmetric photonic crystal templates. Through pixel-by-pixel phase engineering, digital control of the phases of one or more of the interfering beams was demonstrated, thus allowing change in the interference pattern. The phases of the generated beams were programmed at specific locations, resulting in defect structures in the fabricated photonic lattices such as missing lattice line defects, and single-motif lattice defects in dual-motif lattice background. The diffraction efficiency from the phase pattern was used to locally modify the filling fraction in holographically fabricated structures, resulting in defects with a different fill fraction than the bulk lattice. Through two steps of phase engineering, a spatially variant lattice defect with a 90° bend in a periodic bulk lattice was fabricated. Finally, by reducing the relative phase shift of the defect line and utilizing the different diffraction efficiency between the defect line and the background phase pattern, desired and functional defect lattices can be …

In recent years a great deal of interest has been focused on the synthesis of transitional metal (e.g. Ag, Cu, Fe, Au) nanosystems at the surface to sub-surface regions of Si and SiO2 matrices for fundamental understanding of their structures as well as for development of technological applications with enhanced electronic and optical properties. The applications of the metal nanoparticle or nanocluster (NC) systems range from plasmonics, photovoltaic devices, medical, and biosensors. In all of these applications; the size, shape and distribution of the metallic NCs in the silicon matrix play a key role. Low energy ion implantation followed by thermal annealing (in vacuum or gas environment) is one of the most suitable methods for synthesis of NCs at near surfaces to buried layers below the surfaces of the substrates. This technique can provide control over depth and concentration of the implanted ions in the host matrix. The implanted low energy metal ions initially amorphizes the Si substrates while being distributed at a shallow depth near the substrate surface. When subject to thermal annealing, the implanted ions agglomerate to form clusters of different sizes at different depths depending upon the fluence. However, for the heavier ions implanted with high fluences …

The existence of singly, doubly, and triply charged diatomic molecular ions was observed by using an Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) technique. The mean lifetimes of 3 MeV boron diatomic molecular ions were measured. No isotopic effects on the mean lifetimes of boron diatomic molecules were observed for charge state 3+. Also, the mean lifetime of SiF^3+ was measured.