When you push the size of a system to atomic scale, new quantum phenomena come alive. We know what they are, but we haven’t quite figured out how to control them. Control is the next step to the ultimate goal of full integration of quantum devices with traditional semiconductor devices.
CONTROLLING THE QUANTUM FUTURE Developing New Nano-Quantum Materials ECE faculty and collaborators are developing a new family of III-nitride nano-quantum materials (nQMs) which are expected to contribute to future advances in quantum devices for quantum information, communication, air purification, object sterilization, and sensing.
“We’re talking about controlling the energy of light, and then what type of light is emitted,” said Kira, “which is also critical for quantum information applications, such as moving information long distances, quantum processing, information security, or highly sensitive sensing and detection.”
At the center of these nQMs are extreme quantum-dot arrays – called extreme because they contain just a few atoms compared to the thousands found in “normal” dots. For the project to be a success, the researchers will innovate and control these quantumdots arrays at nanoscale to produce the desired macroscopic, collective actions.
Building on the theory, Mi’s group will grow quantum nanostructures based on III-nitride semiconductors.
“By demonstrating the controlled synthesis of such atom clusters utilizing industry-standard processing tools, we hope to establish the material platform for scalable, next-generation quantum technology,” said project director Zetian Mi. Control is the key, and it’s very tricky business. “When you make these quantum nanostructures, new operational principles come alive,” said co-investigator Mackillo Kira. These quantum principles cause unusual things to happen when a small number of nanosized particles are confined. Called quantum effects, they don’t conform to the expectations of classical physics, but they can be predicted by quantum theory. In addition, different quantum effects sometimes come into play depending on the number of nano-quantum particles that begin to work together. Kira will be in charge of developing a systematic quantum theory that will predict the behavior of the nQMs. The newly-developed theory will enable scientists to precisely predict and determine the electronic, optical, excitonic, and entanglement properties of quantum nanostructures, and perhaps most importantly for this research - how to control quantum light. 30
“This is also a wide bandgap material ideally suited for UV optoelectronics, including UV LEDs for disinfectant applications,” said Mi. “Broadly speaking, 200 to 280 nanometers is very important for disinfection purification applications. But there is no viable way to do that using conventional semiconductor technology.” Air purification and room sterilization, critical in hospital settings, are some of the key applications for Mi’s research. Current technology uses mercury lamps, a highly toxic material. In addition, Mi says that by using quantum nanostructures, as opposed to traditional semiconductors, the process can be made highly efficient. In addition to Mi and Kira, key members of the team include Professors Ted Norris and Parag Deotare, who will test and evaluate the materials, Prof. Manos Kiopakis (Materials Science and Engineering Department), who will help with the design and modeling of monolayer GaN structures, and industrial partners Sandia National Lab and the Air Force Research Lab, who bring extensive experience in materials characterization. “If we can make a few entanglement-based demonstrations, based on the new materials, that’s a big step forward,” said Kira. “That would be a founding moment of making semiconductors quantum ready.”
