A PHASE 1 SBIR PROGRAM IS PROPOSED TO DEVELOP A TECHNIQUE FOR MONITORING ATOMIC AND MOECULAR BEAM FLUXES IN A MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY (MBE) SYSTEM. THE PROPOSED INSTRUMENT OPERATES USING THE PRINCIPLE OF LASER-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE (LIF), AND INCLUDES

A TUNABLE LASER SYSTEM TO EXCITE BEAM SPECIES, A SPECTROMETER FOR FLUORESCENCE ANALYSIS, AND A DETECTOR WITH SIGNAL PROCESSING. IT WILL ADDRESS MBE DIAGNOSTIC REQUIREMENTS WHICH ARE NOT ADEQUATELY MET BY CURRENT INSTRUMENTS. THE PHASE 1 PROGRAM WILL CARRY OUT A DETAILED DESIGN ANALYSIS TO ESTABLISH FEASIBILITY OF THE CONCEPT. PROGRAM ELEMENTS WILL INCLUDE: DETERMINATION OF A LIF STRATEGY FOR ANALYSIS OF SPECIES SUCH AS GA, IN, A1 AS2, AS4, ETC.; IDENTIFICATION OF TUNABLE LASER TECHNIQUES EXCITE SPECIFIED ABSORPTION FEATURES; OPTICAL DESIGN TO CAPTURE FLUORESCENCE AND SPECTROMETRICALLY ANALYZE THE EMISSION FROM THE PROBE BEAM; DEVELOPMENT OF A MODEL TO PREDICT SPECIES SENSITIVITIES. PHASE 1 WILL RESULT IN A FULLY SUPPORTED CONCEPTUAL DESIGN, LEADING TO PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT AND TEST IN PHASE 2.