Microfabrication of polymeric structures doped and coated with transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) for photonics applications

• Grant number: 24/20107-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: Cleber Renato Mendonça
• Grantee: Gabriel de Oliveira Campos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física de São Carlos (IFSC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/11283-7 - Nonlinear photonics: spectroscopy and advanced processing of materials, AP.TEM

Abstract

Advancements in integrated photonics and the effective possibility of breaking current technological barriers through the use of light have fostered and intensified the development of photonic microdevices capable of being incorporated into a single three-dimensional platform. From a versatility standpoint, polymeric micror resonators have gained significant relevance within this class of microdevices due to their ease of production, low cost, high performance in light confinement, and, importantly, the ability to incorporate new components into the polymer matrix. This allows for the optimization of optical, mechanical, and electrical properties, as well as the manifestation of effects such as opto-mechanical phenomena, mode filtering, and low laser thresholds. Thus, the search for materials that, when incorporated into polymer resins, maintain and enhance effects that support the applicability of these materials is key to the fabrication of more effective and robust integration devices.Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) emerge as promising candidates for this type of integration due to their properties, such as high conductivity, high mechanical strength, high thermal conductivity, and in some specific cases, photoluminescence. In this context, and focusing on the development and application of new photonic materials, the project presented here aims to incorporate TMDs into polymer microstructures manufactured via two-photon polymerization using two strategies: direct doping and deposition through the laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) technique. This incorporation will be applied to both planar 3D structures and micror resonators that support Whispering Gallery Modes (WGMs) in different geometries. Characterization and analysis of the modifications triggered by changes in the polymer matrix will be conducted through experiments such as micro-Raman spectroscopy, confocal fluorescence microscopy, and atomic force microscopy, enabling the evaluation of hybrid systems (polymer + TMDs) at a fundamental level, driven by the incorporation of some effects of TMDs into the resins, and at an applied level, through modifications in the light confinement properties of the fabricated micror resonators.