MRI: Acquisition of optical access in a cryogenic scanning probe microscope for quantum sensing capabilities

MRI：在低温扫描探针显微镜中获取光学通道以实现量子传感功能

• 批准号: 2216155
• 负责人: Christian Binek
• 金额: $ 35.82万
• 依托单位: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2216155&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; optical; access; cryogenic

Materials science is in the midst of a second quantum revolution where quantum phenomena on a macroscopic scale enable new forms of quantum materials and quantum technologies with revolutionizing impact in medicine, banking, and defense due to quantum enabled advances in information technology, sensing, communication, computation, simulation and cryptography to name just a few examples. This Major Research Instrumentation award supports the University of Nebraska-Lincoln which hosts the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience (NCMN) and its NSF funded EPSCoR center on emerging quantum materials and technologies. With this MRI award, researchers will take full advantage of the existing cryogenic scanning probe microscope which enables atomic, magnetic and piezo force microscopy at temperatures between 4 and 300K and magnetic fields up to 9T, and utilize it to create a commercial high-resolution quantum sensing platform. This versatile characterization tool is a quantum sensing application which enables state-of-the-art characterization of novel quantum materials. The instrument puts Nebraska on the map as a pioneer in many areas of quantum materials science. Because the instrument is part of NCMN’s core facilities, it becomes accessible to internal and external users. Access to this instrumentation paves the way for Nebraska’s emerging quantum technology-based economy, which builds on the existing high-tech industry within the Silicon Prairie. Equally important is the fact that the access to this instrument allows educating students and training quantum engineers for the much-needed quantum workforce. This Track 1 Major Research Instrumentation award is for the acquisition of a Nitrogen Vacancy (NV)-Attocube (Atto) atomic force microscope (AFM) integrated with a confocal microscope (CFM), which allows magnetic, optical, and quantum measurements at the nanometer scale. The instrument will be located at the Surface and Materials Characterization division of the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience (NCMN) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). The acquisition of the module will transform the existing NSF-funded low-temperature high-magnetic-field multifunctional scanning probe microscope into a versatile platform for NV quantum sensing and fundamental research on quantum entanglement. The point defect atomic nature of the NV center and its spin millisecond quantum coherence lifetime allow measurements of a wide range of quantum materials with high sensitivity and spatial resolution ( 40 nm). Additionally, it operates at high magnetic fields and across a wide range of temperatures. The system can support various experiments, including magnetic imaging of solid-state materials and biomolecules as well as mapping optical and thermal properties of low-dimensional materials. Currently, there are five similar instruments in the U.S. with limitations in types of materials studied (e.g., only superconductors) or magnetic field range (only 0.5 T). In acquiring the NV-AttoAFM/CFM, the goal is to position UNL at the forefront of quantum sensing capabilities ushering in the age of applied quantum technologies in Nebraska and U.S. Midwest. The infrastructure of NCMN, a user facility serving the Midwest research community and startup companies, includes the technical support of a PhD-trained expert in scanning probe microscopy, which ensures long-term maintenance, sustainability, and user support.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.

材料科学正处于第二次量子革命中，宏观上的量子现象使新形式的量子材料和量子技术在医学、银行和国防方面产生革命性的影响，这是由于量子使信息技术、传感、通信、计算、模拟和密码学的进步，仅举几个例子。这一重大研究仪器奖支持内布拉斯加州林肯大学，该大学拥有内布拉斯加州材料和纳米科学中心(NCMN)及其由NSF资助的新兴量子材料和技术EPSCoR中心。有了这项MRI奖，研究人员将充分利用现有的低温扫描探针显微镜，该显微镜可以在4至300K的温度和高达9T的磁场下进行原子、磁力和压电力显微镜观察，并利用它来创建商业高分辨率量子传感平台。这种多功能的表征工具是一种量子传感应用，能够对新型量子材料进行最先进的表征。该仪器使内布拉斯加州成为量子材料科学许多领域的先驱。由于该仪器是NCMN核心设施的一部分，因此内部和外部用户都可以使用它。这种仪器的使用为内布拉斯加州新兴的以量子技术为基础的经济铺平了道路，该经济建立在硅谷草原现有的高科技产业基础上。同样重要的是，使用这种仪器可以为急需的量子劳动力教育学生和培训量子工程师。该Track 1重大研究仪器奖是为获得氮空位(NV)-阿托立方体(ATTO)原子力显微镜(AFM)和共焦显微镜(CFM)而颁发的，该显微镜可以在纳米级进行磁、光学和量子测量。该仪器将安装在内布拉斯加州大学林肯分校(UNL)内布拉斯加州材料和纳米科学中心(NCMN)的表面和材料表征部门。该模块的收购将把现有的NSF资助的低温高磁场多功能扫描探针显微镜转变为NV量子传感和量子纠缠基础研究的通用平台。NV中心的点缺陷原子性质及其自旋毫秒量子相干寿命允许以高灵敏度和空间分辨率(40 Nm)测量广泛的量子材料。此外，它还能在高磁场和宽温度范围内工作。该系统可以支持各种实验，包括固态材料和生物分子的磁成像，以及绘制低维材料的光学和热学性质。目前，美国有五种类似的仪器，在所研究的材料类型(例如，仅限超导体)或磁场范围(仅0.5T)方面存在限制。收购NV-AttoAFM/CFM的目标是将UNL定位在量子传感能力的前沿，开启内布拉斯加州和美国中西部应用量子技术的时代。NCMN是一家服务于中西部研究社区和初创公司的用户机构，其基础设施包括一名受过博士培训的扫描探针显微镜专家的技术支持，这确保了长期维护、可持续性和用户支持。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。