CAREER: Creating Confined-but-Coupled Nanostructures to Balance Quantum Confinement and Quantum Coupling

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This CAREER award is jointly funded by the Electronic and Photonic Materials Program (EPM) and the Solid State and Materials Chemistry Program (SSMC), both in the Division of Materials Research.Technical: The research component of this CAREER award is to study semiconductor nanostructures with controlled connections in multiple dimensions that balance quantum confinement and quantum coupling. The conceptual framework underlying the research project is based on analogies between atomic crystals and nanocrystal assemblies as artificial solids. The research builds on recent advances in independent controls of the energy level of the artificial atom (nanocrystal), the quantum coupling across the artificial bond (molecular linker), and the symmetry of the artificial crystal (superlattice). The project aims to significantly advance knowledge and understanding of tunable extended electronic states in coupled nanocrystal assemblies. It studies pressure tuning of inter-nanocrystal separation, formation of permanent artificial bonds between nanostructures, and processing-structure-property relationships of semiconductor nanostructures. The overall objectives of the research are to: (1) map the electronic phase diagram of confined-but-connected semiconductor nanostructures with precise experimental control over the disorder and coupling of the system; (2) apply the understanding of correlated properties in the creation of artificial solids with electronic and optical properties by design, and (3) transform the fundamental understanding into a technological reality by developing and testing prototype photovoltaic test structures.Non-technical: The project addresses basic research issues in a topical area of materials science with high technological relevance. The nanostructured semiconductor materials studied in this project have potential applications in next-generation energy technologies. The educational activities of this CAREER project are designed to: (1) integrate results from the research frontier and education of students ranging from high school, to undergraduate courses and projects, and to graduate school, and (2) capture the enthusiasm and engagement of students in impending energy issues, encouraging their future contributions as the next generation of scientist and engineers.