Chemical Control of Spin and Carrier Dynamics in 2D Hybrid Metal Halide Double Perovskites

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With support from the Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry (MSN) program in the Division of Chemistry, Professors Jin Zhang and Yuan Ping of University of California-Santa Cruz are using a combination of advanced laser techniques and computational methods to investigate the behavior of electron spin in two-dimensional (2D) perovskites. Electron spin is a fundamental quantum mechanical property that is used in many emerging quantum-based technologies. Most of these applications require long spin state lifetimes and precise control. However, the spin lifetime is usually short, just a millionth of a millionth of a second, and it is challenging to manipulate. Professors Zhang and Ping and their students will create 2D perovskites with long spin lifetimes and use ultrafast lasers to control their electron spin. Their discoveries could impact technologies from nanoelectronics to quantum information technologies. The project also provides training opportunities for future scientists in advanced instrumentation and computation, and through their "The Sun, Spectroscopy, and Santa Cruz" open lab events, they will introduce their research findings to local high school students and teachers to enhance public awareness about science.The research team will combine experimental and theoretical efforts to study spin and carrier relaxation in novel 2D lead-free metal halide double perovskites. The project will systematically study the impact of fundamental factors, such as structure, composition, surface, and chiral component, on the electron spin lifetime, as well as associated processes such as electron-electron and electron-phonon scattering. The materials will be synthesized with rational structural and compositional control, and carefully characterized using a combination of time-resolved photoluminescence, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and spectroscopy, Raman and infrared spectroscopy, as well ultrafast pump-probe methods. Computational studies based on a state-of-the-art first principles open quantum dynamics method will explore the scattering processes affecting electron spin lifetime to guide and corroborate experimental studies.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.