NER: Microscopic Traps for Electrons in Vacuum

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ABSTRACT:Proposal No: 0508346Title: MICROSCOPIC TRAPS FOR ELECTRONS IN VACUUM PI: Marija DrindicInst: University of Pennsylvania The objective of this NSF NER proposal is to build the first microscopic traps for cold (low-energy) electrons in vacuum and to demonstrate the trapping, detection, and manipulation of single electrons at small scales above surfaces in vacuum. The intellectual merit of this proposal is in developing the technologies for electron trapping, detection and manipulation on small scales in vacuum. In realizing these traps, it will be studied how the electrons interact with nearby surfaces at nanometer and micrometer length-scales, and how the electron motion can be detected and controlled near microfabricated wires. The broad impact of the proposed research is that it will present the first realization of electron "quantum dots" or "artificial atoms" in vacuum. An electron in a microtrap resembles a hydrogen atom; the hydrogen nucleus will be "replaced" in the proposed case by the electrodes of the microtrap. Control of electrons on microscopic scales is expected to open up new possibilities at the interface of atomic and condensed matter physics including integrated electronic circuits in vacuum, single and coupled quantum dots in vacuum and possible implementation of quantum computers. The PI is actively supporting the research of undergraduates, and one undergraduate will be involved in the proposed exploratory project.