EAGER: Enabling Quantum Leap: Nanoengineering of Two-Dimensional and Twisted Ferromagnets Towards Room-Temperature Quantum Logic

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Nontechnical description: This EAGER project focuses on developing a new family of ultrathin, practically two dimensional magnetic materials using layer-on-layer stacking of atomically thin films of magnetic materials. Specifically, this work is focused on making nanoelectronic devices with ultrathin magnetic materials, where the active region is only a few atoms thick. The goal is to better understand the magnetic and electronic properties of these materials and devices. We develop experimental and theoretical tools to manipulate and model these magnetic materials, guided by a vision for these systems as platforms for efficient information storage and quantum information processing technologies. The research engages the participation of one graduate research student and one postdoctoral associate. The broader impacts of this project include activities to present cutting edge concepts in nanoscience to high school students through the Penn Experimental Research Physics Academy and Penn Summer Prep program, as well as to the general public through the annual Philadelphia Science Festival. Technical Description: This project focuses on the two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides vanadium disulfide and vanadium diselenide, shown to exhibit ferromagnetism with in-plane magnetic moments and Curie temperatures around room temperature, and are thus promising candidates for room-temperature quantum applications. Through theory, computation, and experiment, the research team is studying two main aspects of these materials: (a) their properties through the transition from 2D to 1D behavior in patterned structures, and (b) the emergent phenomena induced in rotationally misaligned multilayer stacks. The experimental component of the project combines growth by chemical vapor deposition, mechanical exfoliation and transfer, and electrical, optical, and magnetic measurements. In task (a) the project aims to develop controlled and scalable growth and fabrication techniques to create high-quality 2D materials and quasi-1D sculpted nanostructures with room temperature functionality in nanometer-scale architectures for spintronic and other device applications. Concurrently, the team aims to optimize structural properties such as atomic edge configuration, defect types and density, and relative lattice orientation to maximize performance. In task (b) the project seeks to discover and exploit the emergent quantum effects of rotational stacking of these materials and investigate the spin textures arising from the spatially modulated interlayer magnetic coupling. These spin textures may provide a rich variety of new physical effects and provide a platform for quantum information processing manipulatable by spin transfer torques. The broader impacts of this project include activities to present cutting edge concepts in nanoscience to high school students through the Penn Experimental Research Physics Academy and Penn Summer Prep program, and to the general public through the annual Philadelphia Science Festival.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.