This project will conduct crystal growth research on a single crystal rare earth oxide, which is expected to be a converter of thermal energy to a narrow wavelength emission in the near infrared. This crystal is expected to behave as a photonic band gap (pbg) material (a new class of materials). The concept of a pbg material was first explicitly described by eli yablonovitch (phys. Rev. Lett. 58, (1987) 2059-2062). In phase i, measurements will be made of the light emission from these crystals when they are heated to a temperature that can be achieved with a propane torch.
