Collaborative Research: Twist Control of Correlated Physics in Two Dimensions

合作研究：二维相关物理的扭转控制

• 批准号: 2226097
• 负责人: Patrick Vora
• 金额: $ 35万
• 依托单位: George Mason University
• 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: 2022-09-15 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2226097&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Twist; Control; Correlated

Nontechnical DescriptionInnovations in materials science drive the creation of technologies that fundamentally alter how societies function. For years there has been excitement around the possibility of computers based on the principles of quantum mechanics. This dream remains unrealized both due to the lack of tunable quantum behaviors in materials and a pipeline for training a quantum-literate workforce. The main research objective of this project is to accelerate the production of next-generation technologies by achieving unprecedented control over the physics in quantum materials. The project will specifically investigate atomically thin materials that individually have strong electronic interactions to understand how these interactions may be manipulated through layer engineering. This new ability to design quantum states by twisting layers can hasten the creation of memory and computing technologies that are superior in performance and energy efficiency to the status quo. Twist angle physics in quantum materials also provides new insight into how interactions between electrons can lead to unexpected behaviors. The education goal of this project is to build a quantum-literate workforce by teaching high school and undergraduate students about possible career paths in quantum technology as well as how to follow these paths. Quantum workforce development is carried out through cross-institution, academia-industry events that include: 1) a ‘Careers in Quantum’ event where students can directly interact with industry experts, 2) outreach events at the Principal Investigators’ institutions, and 3) a middle school science camp. These activities are poised to make a long-standing impact in the preparation of students for exciting careers in an increasingly quantum high-tech industry.Technical DescriptionThe objective of this project is to discover the role of interlayer interactions in layered quantum materials through the exploration of twisted heterostructures of tantalum disulfide. Existing studies of layered quantum materials demonstrate connections between electronic ground state and layer alignment, but these are limited to a small set of naturally occurring stacking configurations and wrought with contradictions. By leveraging twist-tunable heterostructures and a range of characterization and modeling that spans nanoscale to mesoscale physics, this project systematically explores strongly correlated physics in tantalum disulfide to uncover the total phase space detailing the interplay of Mott physics, charge density waves, magnetism, and metallic states. This research is enabled through a partnership between the University of New Hampshire and George Mason University and with the Quantum Material Press at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The central research activities are: 1) creating the first twisted heterostructures comprised of strongly correlated materials; 2) elucidating the twist-angle structure-property relationships in tantalum disulfide through the correlation of nanoscale scanning tunneling microscopy and mesoscale magneto-Raman spectroscopy; and 3) discovering the impact of aperiodicity in a new class of twisted quantum quasicrystals. Experimental results from these efforts can inform the creation of theoretical models of twist physics by collaborators at the Naval Research Laboratory, leading to a more general understanding of quantum emergence in layered solids. The structure-property relationships established in this work provide a set of guiding principles for designer quantum behaviors in twisted heterostructures, such as switchable ground states, through the judicious choice of 2D material and layer orientation.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.

非技术性描述材料科学的创新推动了从根本上改变社会运作方式的技术的创造。多年来，人们一直对基于量子力学原理的计算机的可能性感到兴奋。这个梦想仍然没有实现，因为材料中缺乏可调的量子行为，以及培训量子知识员工的管道。该项目的主要研究目标是通过实现对量子材料物理学的前所未有的控制来加速下一代技术的生产。该项目将专门研究原子级薄材料，这些材料各自具有较强的电子相互作用，以了解如何通过层工程来操纵这些相互作用。这种通过扭曲层来设计量子态的新能力可以加速存储器和计算技术的创造，这些技术在性能和能源效率方面上级现状。量子材料中的扭曲角物理学也为电子之间的相互作用如何导致意想不到的行为提供了新的见解。该项目的教育目标是通过向高中生和本科生教授量子技术的可能职业道路以及如何遵循这些道路来建立一支懂量子的劳动力队伍。量子劳动力发展是通过跨机构，跨行业的活动，其中包括：1）“量子职业生涯”活动，学生可以直接与行业专家互动，2）在主要研究者的机构外展活动，和3）中学科学营。这些活动将对学生在日益增长的量子高科技行业中的激动人心的职业生涯产生长期的影响。技术说明本项目的目标是通过探索二硫化钽的扭曲异质结构来发现层间相互作用在层状量子材料中的作用。现有的分层量子材料的研究表明电子基态和层排列之间的联系，但这些都局限于一小部分自然发生的堆叠配置和矛盾。通过利用扭曲可调异质结构和一系列表征和建模，跨越纳米尺度到介观尺度的物理学，该项目系统地探索了二硫化钽中的强相关物理学，以揭示详细描述Mott物理学，电荷密度波，磁性和金属状态相互作用的总相空间。这项研究是通过新罕布什尔州大学和乔治梅森大学以及布鲁克海文国家实验室的量子材料出版社之间的合作实现的。中心研究活动是：1）创建由强关联材料组成的第一个扭曲异质结构; 2）通过纳米级扫描隧道显微镜和介观磁拉曼光谱的关联来阐明二硫化钽中的扭曲角结构-性质关系;以及3）发现一类新的扭曲量子准晶中的非周期性的影响。这些努力的实验结果可以为海军研究实验室的合作者创建扭曲物理学的理论模型提供信息，从而对分层固体中的量子涌现有更全面的理解。在这项工作中建立的结构-性质关系提供了一套指导原则，设计师在扭曲异质结构的量子行为，如可切换的基态，通过明智的选择2D材料和层orientation.This奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。