Phase
II Award Announcement
On April 5, 2006 Nonlinear Control Strategies, Inc. was announced
winner of a Phase II STTR award from the U.S. Air Force Office of
Scientific Research to develop a commercial closed-loop software
environment to aid in fast tracking from semiconductor laser device
concept through to materials growth and device optimization. The
contract is a 24-month effort beginning on August 1, 2006. A summary
of the Phase II STTR goals is stated below:
ABSTRACT: Semiconductor amplifiers and lasers are pervasive as critical
components in modern day military and commercial technologies. High
quality semiconductor wafer growth can now produce heterostructures
of very high quality with stoichiometrically correct growth of individual
mono-layers. Despite these significant advances in MBE and MOCVD
growth technologies, a critical void remains in predicting the performance
of final packaged functional amplifier or laser devices. The lack
of predictive semiconductor device design and growth monitoring
capability can be traced to the extreme complexity of calculating
the semiconductor optical response from first principles. Parallel
progress in basic research over the past decade has led to the emergence
of the first fully predictive theory of the optical properties of
semiconductor heterostructures. A Nonlinear Control Strategies /University
of Arizona collaborative project proposes to develop robust commercial
PC-based software tools built on such microscopically computed optical
gain databases. Individual modules will aid in semiconductor epi
design, growth monitoring and overall functional device optimization.
Such closed-loop software tools applicable to a broad class of material
systems, will enable the laser designer and materials grower to
fast track from device design concept through growth to the final
packaged device, thereby avoiding costly and wasteful material re-growth
and packaging cycles.