Making colloidal nanostructures stable for optical quantum computing with quantum rings, single-electron transistors and frequency comb interferometry.

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Current computer microprocessors comprise about 2.3 billions transistors, which is barely 40 times less than the number of neurons in the human brain. The thermal power dissipation density in the computer core now reaches an enormous 100 W/cm2, or about 1/60th of the power density on the sun's surface. The quest for developing the next, more energy-efficient, transistor switch is therefore a very active field of research. Our research investigates colloidal nanostructures as substitutes that could bring about a different computational scheme, namely optical quantum information processing. These structures are in fact nanometre-sized semiconductor crystals for which we can engineer the electrical and optical properties through the laws of quantum mechanics. However, the light emission properties of colloidal nanostructures need to be more stable, and we intend to resolve this issue. More specifically, we will develop a new colloidal nanostructure, a 1D quantum ring, to act as a stable and coherent single photon source for quantum information. This will require a thorough understanding of surface-related effects in colloidal nanostructures. Hence, they will be placed in single electron transistor structures to study the current flowing through them in presence of a static electric field and/or light. We will also take a new approach to probe the optical absorption of a single colloidal nanostructure, namely an interferometric method using frequency combs. Finally, our colloidal nanostructures will be used to build a fiber-based single photon source enhancing and stabilizing the light emission. In addition to developing new tools and methods to improve our understanding of colloidal quantum confined nanostructures, our research will benefit Canadians by promoting the sustainable development of energy-efficient computers.