DMREF: Collaborative Research: Systematic Discovery of Materials Platforms for Spin-Light Quantum Interfaces

非技术描述：固体中某些类型的缺陷——例如，一个孤立的杂质原子，或者晶体中缺少一个原子的空位——就像被困的分子一样，其量子力学状态可以通过使用光和电子来控制。这些缺陷今天被用作量子信息科学新兴应用的基础，特别是作为单光子源、量子存储器和量子传感器。然而，只有一小部分潜在缺陷系统，在有限的主体材料中，为此目的进行了探索，并且这些系统具有特定的特性，并不是对每个应用都是最佳的。替代缺陷，可能发生在材料中，在很大程度上被忽视，提供了潜在的优势，但新的量子缺陷的识别和发展一直是一个缓慢而艰巨的过程。这个DMREF项目的目标是通过结合新的计算和实验技术，在材料基因组计划的启发下，以一种有效的范例，大大加快固体中量子缺陷的发现过程。合作研究人员将预测大量材料中缺陷的基本性质，确定最适合手头应用的系统，使用高通量实验方法制造和识别目标缺陷，并确定其在量子科学中的应用潜力，特别是作为“自旋光界面”的潜力，这将作为未来量子网络的基础。该研究项目将为未来在量子劳动力中就业的多名研究生和本科生做好准备，其外展计划将通过虚拟和面对面的活动向公众介绍量子科学和技术的概念。技术描述：宽带隙半导体中的点缺陷已经成为量子信息科学和技术的主要平台，因为它们具有孤立的电子和核自旋态，可以光学和电子地处理，用于量子比特和量子传感器。然而，到目前为止，大多数研究都集中在少数缺陷系统和宿主材料上，并且新缺陷系统的识别一直是一个缓慢、艰巨和通常特别的过程。考虑到大量潜在的材料和缺陷结构，以系统的方式从理论上预测和实验上确定有前途的候选材料仍然是一个重大挑战。这个合作的DMREF项目将通过结合新的计算和实验技术来解决这一挑战，以加速发现针对自旋光量子界面优化的缺陷、掺杂剂和宿主材料。在从头算和低能量数值计算的支持下，基于分析群论的高效计算模型将有助于系统地发现具有所需特性的电子系统，而新的高通量单发射器光谱技术将使快速实验表征成为可能。该项目的直接目标是利用最先进的量子动力学控制技术，确定以前未开发的支持室温或接近室温的相干自旋光子界面的自旋系统。更广泛地说，选择满足特定材料和应用要求的缺陷的能力将彻底改变固态量子工程，并导致量子科学的各种新应用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Nontechnical description: Certain types of defects in solids - for example, an isolated impurity atom, or a vacancy where an atom is missing from the crystal - act like trapped molecules whose quantum-mechanical states can be controlled through use of light and electronics. Such defects are employed today as the basis for emerging applications in quantum information science, especially as single-photon sources, quantum memories, and quantum sensors. However, only a small number of potential defect systems, within a limited set of host materials, have been explored for this purpose, and those systems have specific properties that are not optimal for every application. Alternative defects, potentially occurring in materials that have been largely ignored, offer potential advantages, but the identification and development of new quantum defects has historically been a slow and arduous process. The goal of this DMREF project is to dramatically accelerate the discovery process for quantum defects in solids, by combining new computational and experimental techniques in an efficient paradigm inspired by the Materials Genome Initiative. The collaborating researchers will predict the basic properties of defects in a large number of materials, identify those systems best suited for the application at hand, fabricate and identify the target defects using high-throughput experimental methods, and establish their potential for applications in quantum science, especially as "spin-light interfaces" that will serve as the basis for future quantum networks. The research project will prepare multiple graduate and undergraduate students for future employment in the quantum workforce, and its outreach programs will introduce concepts of quantum science and technology to the general public through virtual and in-person activities. Technical description: Point defects in wide-bandgap semiconductors have emerged as leading platforms for quantum information science and technology, because they host isolated electron and nuclear spin states that can be addressed optically and electronically for use as qubits and quantum sensors. However, most research to date has concentrated on only a few defect systems and host materials, and the identification of new defect systems has been a slow, arduous, and generally ad hoc process. Given the vast number of potential materials and defect configurations, it remains a major challenge to theoretically predict and experimentally identify promising candidates in a systematic way. This collaborative DMREF project will address this challenge by combining new computational and experimental techniques to accelerate the discovery of defects, dopants, and host materials optimized for spin-light quantum interfaces. Computationally efficient analytic group theory-based models supported by judicious use of ab initio and low-energy numerical calculations will facilitate the systematic discovery of electronic systems with desired properties, while novel high-throughput single-emitter spectroscopy techniques will enable rapid experimental characterization. The immediate goal of the project is to identify previously unexplored spin systems that support coherent spin-photon interfaces at or near room temperature, using state-of-the art techniques for quantum dynamical control. More broadly, the ability to select defects that satisfy particular materials and application requirements will revolutionize solid-state quantum engineering and lead to diverse new applications of quantum science.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.