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）项目和主要研究仪器（MRI）项目共同资助。佛罗里达州立大学的Stephen Hill教授和同事Geoffrey Strouse和Wen Zhu，以及NHMFL研究学院的Thierry Dubroca和Tomas Orlando正在获得最先进的脉冲电子顺磁共振（EPR）光谱仪，工作频率为9和34吉赫兹，磁场高达1.5特斯拉。这种光谱仪用于化学、生物学和物理学等各个领域。当电子在磁场中被微波照射时，光谱仪可以观察到跃迁。所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属性的洞察。因此，该仪器用于提供核磁共振无法提供的长度尺度上的化学和生物学重要分子的精确结构细节，包括键的距离和角度，以及分子相对于邻近分子的空间排列的准确信息。此外，它还用于确定磁性电子的动态特性，这是现代信息技术的核心，包括量子传感和计算。这些仪器影响着广泛的研究领域，包括生物化学、有机和无机化学、催化、材料化学和物理，以及量子信息科学的发展领域。该仪器是FSU和国家强磁场实验室（NHMFL）化学、生物化学和物理专业本科生和研究生教学、研究和研究训练的重要组成部分。仪器的范围延伸到附近的佛罗里达农业和机械大学（一所历史悠久的黑人大学）和佛罗里达大学的类似项目。仪器与NHMFL用户程序的集成也影响了整个美国及其他地区的研究人员和学生的工作，包括实验室组织的许多学校和研讨会的参与者。该奖项旨在加强各级的研究和教育。该仪器支持的研究主要集中在以下研究领域：(i)对限制分子自旋量子位相干性的微观过程有基本的了解，目的是设计具有内置保护的分子，防止各种退相干源；（ii）连接分子量子比特形成基本量子门；（iii）开发初始化和操作自旋量子比特的电气和光学方案，这对下一代量子技术至关重要；（iv）寻求对稀磁半导体量子点的内在电子结构和外在缺陷的作用的理解，以期优化对未来微电子应用具有重要意义的等离子体和自旋电子学特性；(v)了解多肽生物合成，设计下一代“抗进化”抗生素和绿色催化剂；（六）开发新的动态核极化剂，其性能可以优化核磁共振信号增强，从而大大提高这一广泛应用技术的灵敏度。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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.