MRI: Track 2 Acquisition of Pulsed 9/34 GHz EPR Spectrometer for Quantum Science and Biochemical Research

该奖项由化学仪器(CRIF)计划和重大研究仪器(MRI)计划联合资助。佛罗里达州立大学的斯蒂芬·希尔教授和他的同事杰弗里·斯特劳斯、文朱，以及NHMFL研究所的蒂埃里·杜布罗卡和托马斯·奥兰多正在获得一台最先进的脉冲电子顺磁共振(EPR)光谱仪，工作频率为9和34千兆赫，磁场高达1.5特斯拉。该光谱仪广泛应用于化学、生物、物理等领域。当磁场中的电子被微波照射时，该光谱仪可以观察到跃迁。获得的光谱提供了有关样品组成的有价值的信息。这些信息提供了对原子附近环境和系统性质的洞察。因此，该仪器被用来在核磁共振无法提供的长度尺度上提供具有化学和生物重要性的分子的精确结构细节，包括键距离和角度，以及关于分子相对于邻近分子的空间排列的准确信息。此外，它还用于确定磁电子的动力学性质，而磁电子是包括量子传感和计算在内的现代信息技术的核心。该仪器影响着包括生物化学、有机化学和无机化学、催化、材料化学和物理在内的广泛领域的研究，以及不断增长的量子信息科学领域。该仪器是FSU和国家强磁场实验室(NHMFL)化学、生物化学和物理本科生和研究生教学、研究和研究培训的组成部分。这种仪器的影响范围延伸到了附近佛罗里达农业与机械大学和佛罗里达大学的类似项目。佛罗里达农业与机械大学是一所历史悠久的黑人大学。该仪器与NHMFL用户计划的整合也影响了美国国内外研究人员和学生的工作，包括该实验室组织的学校和研讨会的许多参与者。该奖项旨在加强各级研究和教育。该仪器的研究集中在以下研究领域：(I)获得对限制分子自旋量子比特一致性的微观过程的基本了解，目的是设计具有内在保护以防止各种退相干来源的分子；(Ii)连接分子量子比特以形成基本的量子门；(Iii)开发对下一代量子技术至关重要的自旋量子比特的初始化和操作的电气和光学方案；(Iv)寻求了解稀磁半导体量子点中的内在电子结构和外部缺陷的作用，以期优化对未来微电子应用至关重要的等离子体和自旋电子学性质；(V)了解多肽的生物合成，以设计下一代“防进化”抗生素和绿色催化剂；以及(Vi)开发具有优化核磁共振信号增强特性的新的动态核极化试剂，从而极大地提高这项广泛应用技术的敏感性。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。

This award is jointly funded by the Chemical Instrumentation (CRIF) program and the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program. Professor Stephen Hill from Florida State University and colleagues Geoffrey Strouse and Wen Zhu, together with NHMFL Research Faculty Thierry Dubroca and Tomas Orlando are acquiring a state-of-the-art pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer operating at frequencies of 9 and 34 gigahertz, in magnetic fields up to 1.5 tesla. This spectrometer is used in various fields including chemistry, biology, and physics. The spectrometer allows observation of transitions when electrons in a magnet field are irradiated with microwaves. The spectrum obtained gives valuable information about the composition of a sample. This information provides insight on the environment near the atom and the properties of the system. As such, the instrumentation is used to provide precise structural details of chemically and biologically important molecules on length scales not possible with nuclear magnetic resonance, including bond distances and angles, as well as accurate information about the spatial arrangements of molecules relative to neighboring ones. In addition, it is used to determine the dynamical properties of magnetic electrons that are central to modern information technologies, including quantum sensing and computing. The instrumentation impacts research in wide ranging areas including biochemistry, organic and inorganic chemistry, catalysis, materials chemistry and physics, as well as the growing area of quantum information science. The instrument is an integral part of teaching as well as research and research training of undergraduate and graduate students in chemistry, biochemistry and physics at both FSU and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) . The reach of the instrumentation extends to similar programs at the nearby campuses of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, an historically black university, and the University of Florida. Integration of the instrument with the NHMFL user programs also impacts the work of researchers and students throughout the US and beyond, including the many participants of schools and workshops organized by the lab.The award is aimed at enhancing research and education at all levels. Research enabled by the instrument is focused on the following areas of study: (i) obtaining fundamental understanding of the microscopic processes that limit the coherence of molecular spin qubits, with the aim of designing molecules with built-in protection against various sources of decoherence; (ii) linking molecular qubits to form elementary quantum gates; (iii) development of electrical and optical schemes for initialization and manipulation of spin qubits that are essential for next generation quantum technologies; (iv) seeking understanding of the intrinsic electronic structures and the role of extrinsic defects in dilute magnetic semiconductor quantum dots, with a view to optimizing plasmonic and spintronics properties of importance to future microelectronics applications; (v) understanding peptide biosynthesis for design of next-generation “evolution-proof” antibiotics and green catalysts; and (vi) development of new dynamic nuclear polarization agents with properties that optimize nuclear magnetic resonance signal enhancements, thereby greatly increasing the sensitivity of this widely applied technique.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.