Quantum Strain Control: Exploring Quantum Materials under Applied Uniaxial Strain

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The goal of this proposal is to investigate how the electronic and magnetic properties of novel quantum materials can be tuned, and ultimately controlled, by applied mechanical strain. There are many families of quantum materials with potential for ground-breaking applications in quantum devices and technology. This includes high temperature superconductors (lossless power transmission, ultrahigh magnetic fields), quantum spin liquids (fault-tolerant quantum computers), and magnetic skyrmion materials (ultrafast magnetic memory). However, there is often a fundamental disconnect between the materials studied by physicists (bulk single crystals) and those used in practical devices (epitaxial thin films). The most obvious discrepancy is the presence of strain: thin films are typically grown on substrate material, and any mismatch between film and substrate introduces mechanical strain. Similar strains can be applied in bulk materials, in a more tunable fashion, with a uniaxial strain cell. Strain can be an extremely powerful tool for controlling the physical properties of materials. It can be used to expand or compress the structure of a material, varying interatomic distances and bond angles that determine the nature of electronic bandwidths and magnetic interactions. Strain can also be used to break symmetries, providing a route to discover new quantum phases. Strain can be used as an experimental tool for "mechanical detwinning", aligning the structural or magnetic domains in a material and making it easier to investigate intrinsic properties. Perhaps most intriguingly, strain can be used to bridge the gap between bulk single crystals and epitaxial thin films, allowing specific strain conditions to be designed and reproduced in bulk materials. We propose to establish a new collaboration with researchers at Cornell University (USA) to study how the electronic and magnetic properties of quantum materials evolve under applied mechanical strain. This collaboration will allow us to: (1) acquire a state-of-the-art uniaxial strain cell for x-ray scattering and spectroscopy, (2) develop exciting new experimental capabilities at McMaster, and (3) provide a unique training experience for McMaster HQP at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source.