Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/L73296/01
Title:	PERIODICALLY MICROSTRUCTURED CHALCOGENIDE GLASSES FOR APPLICATIONS IN THE INFRA-RED
Principal Investigator:	Ewen, Dr PJ
Other Investigators:	Owen, Professor A
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Sch of Engineering
Organisation:	University of Edinburgh
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 October 1997	Ends:	30 September 1999	Value (£):	126,574
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Materials Processing
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
The chalcogenide glasses are well known for their good infra-red (IR) transmitting properties. The photo-induced dissolution of metals in chalcogenide glasses is also well established experimentally and, with the use of standard microlithographic methods, complex shapes and geometries can be readily defined at a submicron level. Two important consequences of metal photo-dissolution into chalcogenide glasses are (1) a substantial increase in refractive index and (2) a dramatic decrease in chemical reactivity. This project will investigate the metal photo-dissolution effect in chalcogenide glasses as a means of designing and manufacturing periodically structured dielectric media for applications as photonic materials in the IR. The initial objective will be to develop processing techniques for the fabrication of relatively simple one-and two-dimensional arrays of dielectric veins or cylindrical rods using, primarily, silver photo-dissolution into glasses in the As-S system. Optical properties will be evaluated by measuring otpical transmission and birefringence in the IR and experimental results will be related to theoretical models. The combination of the metal photo-dissolution process in chalcogenide glasses with conventional microlithography is extremely flexible and following the initial stages the work of the project will be extended to more complex arrays e.g. varying dimensions and orientation of dielectric veins, changing the cross section of rods and locating them in different geometric arrangements etc.
Key Findings
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Potential use in non-academic contexts
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Impacts
Description This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk Summary Date Materialised
Sectors submitted by the Researcher
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Project URL:
Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.ed.ac.uk