LEAP-HI: Manufacturing of Silicon-based Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Quantum Building Blocks

LEAP-HI：硅基杂化有机-无机量子构件的制造

• 批准号: 2053567
• 负责人: Lorenzo Mangolini
• 金额: $ 200万
• 依托单位: University of California-Riverside
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-08-01 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2053567&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: LEAP; HI; Manufacturing; Silicon; based

Quantum computing promises to address our growing need for faster and more energy efficient information processing technologies. Today quantum computers rely on materials and structures that need to be both extremely pure and operated at cryogenic temperatures, a limitation referred to as “the tyranny of low temperature”. These constraints put into question the scalability of quantum computers and, in turn, their potential to manage the sheer magnitude of information generated by modern-day society. This Leading Engineering for America's Prosperity, Health, and Infrastructure (LEAP-HI) project will investigate alternative materials and structures that have the potential to store and optically access quantum information at room temperature. The structures are based on small semiconductor (inorganic) nanoparticles integrated with carefully designed organic molecules. The main outcomes of this project will be (a) a set of design guidelines for these hybrid organic-inorganic structures that optimize the optical and electronic coupling between the two components, and (b) the development of strategies for their manufacturing that, while being novel, are also inherently scalable to large production volumes. Achieving these goals will allow establishing the hybrid organic-inorganic structures as the fundamental building block of the next generation of quantum computers. A broad array of activities including outreach to community colleges, internship into the principal investigator’s laboratories and outreach to the public in collaboration with local museums will be integrated into the research plan. These activities will target students at all levels (from grade school to community colleges), with particular attention towards students from underrepresented groups and the goal of encouraging them to pursue advanced degrees in STEM.This project is centered on silicon quantum dots as the inorganic component of the researched structure. This choice is motivated by their advantageous properties in terms of abundance and sustainability, and by the fact that their processing science is still in its infancy, making this field ripe for critical contributions. The project aims at achieving an unprecedented control over the optoelectronic coupling between silicon quantum dots and surrounding organic semiconducting matrices. This will be realized by grafting transmitter organic molecules onto the surface of the silicon particles, therefore tuning the interfacial chemistry and the bi-directional energy transfer between the two system components. Novel gas-phase processing schemes will be developed to produce silicon quantum dots and immediately graft their surfaces with multi-functional organic groups, providing a rapid and scalable approach to the production of the hybrid structures. Ultrafast spectroscopy will be used to elucidate the role played by interfacial chemistry on the functionality of the hybrid organic-inorganic structures. Atomistic modelling will provide theoretical foundation and guidance to this investigation. The investigators are uniquely qualified to undertake this project, as they bring together expertise in the synthesis of silicon quantum dots, the design of organic-inorganic interfaces, the photo-physical characterization of hybrid systems and the ab-initio modelling of interfacial effects.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.

量子计算有望满足我们对更快、更节能的信息处理技术日益增长的需求。如今，量子计算机所依赖的材料和结构需要极其纯净并在低温下运行，这种限制被称为“低温暴政”。这些限制使人们对量子计算机的可扩展性提出质疑，进而质疑它们管理现代社会产生的海量信息的潜力。这个美国繁荣、健康和基础设施领先工程 (LEAP-HI) 项目将研究有潜力在室温下存储和光学访问量子信息的替代材料和结构。该结构基于与精心设计的有机分子集成的小型半导体（无机）纳米颗粒。该项目的主要成果将是（a）为这些有机-无机混合结构制定一套设计指南，优化两个组件之间的光学和电子耦合，以及（b）制定其制造策略，该策略虽然新颖，但本质上也可扩展到大批量生产。实现这些目标将允许建立混合有机-无机结构作为下一代量子计算机的基本构建模块。研究计划将纳入一系列广泛的活动，包括社区大学的推广、首席研究员实验室的实习以及与当地博物馆合作向公众的推广。这些活动将针对各个级别的学生（从小学到社区大学），特别关注来自弱势群体的学生，并鼓励他们攻读 STEM 高级学位。该项目以硅量子点为中心，作为所研究结构的无机成分。这一选择的动机是它们在丰富性和可持续性方面的优势特性，以及它们的加工科学仍处于起步阶段，使得这一领域做出关键贡献的时机成熟。该项目旨在实现对硅量子点与周围有机半导体基质之间光电耦合的前所未有的控制。这将通过将传输有机分子接枝到硅颗粒的表面来实现，从而调整界面化学和两个系统组件之间的双向能量转移。将开发新颖的气相处理方案来生产硅量子点，并立即用多功能有机基团接枝其表面，从而为混合结构的生产提供快速且可扩展的方法。超快光谱将用于阐明界面化学对有机-无机杂化结构的功能所起的作用。 原子建模将为这项研究提供理论基础和指导。研究人员具有承担该项目的独特资格，因为他们汇集了硅量子点合成、有机-无机界面设计、混合系统的光物理表征以及界面效应从头建模方面的专业知识。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估，被认为值得支持 标准。

项目成果

Efficient photon upconversion enabled by strong coupling between silicon quantum dots and anthracene

硅量子点和蒽之间的强耦合实现了高效的光子上转换

• DOI: 10.1038/s41557-023-01225-x
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Nature Chemistry
• 影响因子: 21.8
• 作者: Wang, Kefu;Cline, R. Peyton;Schwan, Joseph;Strain, Jacob M.;Roberts, Sean T.;Mangolini, Lorenzo;Eaves, Joel D.;Tang, Ming Lee
• 通讯作者: Tang, Ming Lee

Gas-phase grafting for the multifunctional surface modification of silicon quantum dots

硅量子点多功能表面改性的气相接枝

• DOI: 10.1039/d2nr04902c
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Nanoscale
• 影响因子: 6.7
• 作者: Schwan, Joseph;Wang, Kefu;Tang, Ming Lee;Mangolini, Lorenzo
• 通讯作者: Mangolini, Lorenzo

Efficient Photon Upconversion Enabled by Strong Coupling Between Organic Molecules and Quantum Dots

有机分子与量子点之间的强耦合实现高效光子上转换

• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: arXivorg
• 作者: Kefu Wang