RUI: Next Generation Rare Earth Based Light-Emitters for Solid-State Display & Quantum Information Technology Applications

“智能社会”的实现将需要显示和量子计算技术的进步。这种技术的例子包括微尺度颜色可调像素和制造其量子态可以精确控制的系统，这两者都可以通过在半导体基质中“捕获”稀土（RE）元素来解决。稀土元素可以放置在各种环境中，并保留其大部分原始原子性质，包括发射波长和自旋状态。一般来说，稀土离子被掺入到钝化的绝缘材料中。在这个项目中，一组研究人员将研究稀土掺杂半导体的特性，这些半导体被制造成二极管、微腔和微盘等结构。该团队将通过利用RE离子与半导体宿主中的其他缺陷之间的强相互作用来探索操纵RE离子的新方法。总的来说，该项目将作为新一代稀土掺杂半导体器件的基础，利用量子力学效应实现新的功能，如控制自旋和操纵量子信息处理和固态显示器的光发射。通过一所以本科为主的大学和费城地区的两所研究型大学之间的合作，该项目还将培养来自代表性不足群体的几名本科生和研究生，以供未来在量子信息和显示行业就业。技术说明：单一电控颜色可调LED先前已在Eu掺杂GaN中得到展示，其基于操纵Eu 3+离子发射的状态。然而，缺陷特定的能量转移途径的几个细节仍然没有完全理解。更深入地了解这一过程是至关重要的优化这样的LED和实现控制原子发射在其他稀土掺杂系统。该团队还将探索自旋信息是否可以从注入的载流子转移到RE离子，反之亦然。光学跃迁线宽，辐射寿命和自旋相干时间的测量将建立稀土掺杂半导体量子信息协议的基线潜力。Eu掺杂的GaN和Er掺杂的GaAs具有高的发光效率和窄的发光线宽，是单量子发光材料的理想选择。我们的目标是通过控制稀掺杂和使用光子结构增强RE离子的辐射速率来检测和解决单个RE掺杂剂。总体而言，具有全色彩可调性的LED的开发将允许实现单触点RGB微型LED，这将提高固态照明技术的性能并实现GaN基有源像素显示器。对于量子计算应用，基于稀土离子的稳健量子态与成熟的GaN和GaAs合成和纳米纤维技术相结合，可以快速开发可扩展的量子光电器件。该奖项反映了NSF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评审标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The realization of a "smart society" will require advancements in display and quantum computation technologies. Examples of such technologies include microscale color-tunable pixels and the fabrication of systems whose quantum states can be precisely controlled, both of which can be addressed by "trapping" rare earth (RE) elements in a semiconducting host. RE elements can be placed into various environments and retain most of their original atom-like properties, including emission wavelengths and spin states. Generally, RE ions are incorporated in passive, insulating materials. In this project, a team of researchers will study the properties of RE-doped semiconductors fabricated into structures such as diodes, microcavities, and microdisks. The team will explore new ways to manipulate the RE ions by utilizing the strong interaction between the RE ions and other defects within the semiconductor hosts. Overall, this project will serve as the basis for a new generation of RE-doped semiconductor devices that harness quantum mechanical effects to achieve new functionalities such as the control of spins and the manipulation of light emission for quantum information processing and solid-state displays. Through a collaboration between a predominantly undergraduate institution and two research universities in the greater Philadelphia area, this project will also train several undergraduate and graduate students from underrepresented groups for future employment in the quantum information and display industries.Technical description.Single electrically controlled color-tunable LEDs have been previously demonstrated in Eu-doped GaN, which is based on manipulating the state from which the Eu3+ ions emit. However, several details of the defect-specific energy-transfer pathways are still not fully understood. A deeper understanding of this process is crucial for optimizing such LEDs and for realizing controlled atomic emission in other RE-doped systems. The team will also explore whether spin information can be transferred from injected carriers to the RE ions and vice-versa in novel optoelectronic devices. Measurements of optical transition linewidths, radiative lifetimes, and spin coherence times will establish the baseline potential of RE-doped semiconductors for quantum information protocols. With their high efficiency and narrow emission linewidth, Eu-doped GaN and Er-doped GaAs are promising candidates as single quantum emitters. We aim to detect and address individual RE dopants by controlled dilute doping and enhancing the RE ions' radiative rates using photonic structures. Overall, the development of LEDs with full color-tunability will allow for the realization of single-contact RGB micro-LEDs, which will improve the performance of solid-state lighting technology and enable GaN-based active pixel displays. For quantum computation applications, the combination of robust quantum states based on RE ions with the maturity of GaN and GaAs synthesis and nanofabrication technology can enable the rapid development of scalable quantum optoelectronic devices.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.