Realizing robust superfluorescence from nanocrystal superlattices

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In the project entitled “Realizing robust superfluorescence from nanocrystal superlattices”, the emission from semiconductor nanocrystals assembled in a regular fashion, akin to the arrangement of atoms in a crystal, will be investigated. Such assembled nanocrystals are thought to exhibit synchronized emission. Perhaps the best way to think of this phenomenon in everyday life is if everyone broke into applause at the end of a concert at exactly the same time, as if on cue. Such synchronized emission represents a potential source of high brightness photons for the emerging field of quantum information science. Yet despite this potential, very little is currently understood about the phenomenon. The work will therefore conduct concerted experimental and theoretical studies with the aim of seeing whether it can be made robust and observable at room temperature. In the broader impacts part of the project, low cost, portable microscopes, capable of single particle imaging, will be developed for local community educators. Up to five microscopes will be built and, through collaboration with Notre Dame’s Energy Center, local educators will be trained to use and demonstrate these microscopes to their students.The production of advanced, non-classical light sources is key to realizing eventual applications of quantum information science. Single molecules, cold atoms, color centers, nanostructures, and quantum dots have all been explored as sources of deterministic photons. New quantum communications protocols, however, require even higher brightness sources of entangled photons. On-demand, superfluorescent photons offer a potential solution. This project will investigate recently reported superfluorescence in solid state superlattices of CsPbBr3 nanocrystals using concerted theoretical and experimental studies. This first entails developing a microscopic model to describe nanocrystal superfluorescence. Accompanying experimental studies will focus on establishing the emergence of nanocrystal superlattice superfluorescence through control of superlattice size and shape. These studies also involve conducting spatially- and temporally-resolved (fs-ps timescale) emission microscopy and spectroscopy measurements on individual nanocrystal superlattices to learn more about superfluorescence dynamics and the influence superlattice electronic/structural disorder has on its robustness. The ultimate goal of these studies is to realize robust, room temperature superfluorescence.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.