EAGER: Nanotube Composites: Near-Field Electrodynamics and Applications

PI之前在碳纳米管(CNT)中的光学现象的量子力学建模方面发展了很强的技能，这是使用CNT进行量子计算领域所需的。在这项工作中，他计划将这些技能应用于两项具有更广泛影响的建模任务：(1)从微波和太赫兹频率的环境辐射中提取能量；(2)通过辐射的受激发射来放大表面等离子激元--一种用于等离子体激元的激光。学术价值：这项工作将填补我们对能量清除可能的理解的一个非常重要的空白。波波维奇团队的一篇经典论文计算出，使用螺旋整流管可以提取环境中无序微波辐射高达20%的能量，但这些计算没有考虑相干问题和其他量子效应，也没有真正试图描述特征尺寸较小的太赫兹频率下发生的情况。考虑到一种在较小长度尺度上实现螺旋整流管的可能方法-碳纳米管复合结构，这一PI具有很好的解释这种影响的背景。表面等离子激元的新能力对国家科学基金会的优先事项也是极其重要的，而不是摩尔定律。广泛的影响：该项目还将对北卡罗来纳中央大学的教育产生重大影响，该大学是美国第一所由州政府支持的面向非裔美国人的公共文科学院。这项工作的交叉性和先进性，以及国际和平研究所的研究和教育一体化计划，确保了这方面的巨大推广效益。新的能源和速度更快的计算机也可能产生。

The PI has previously developed strong skills in quantum mechanical modeling of optical phenomena in carbon nanotubes (CNT), as required in the field of quantum computing with CNT. In this work, he plans to apply these skills to two modeling tasks with broader implications: (1) the extraction of energy from ambient radiation at microwave and terahertz frequencies ; (2) surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation -- a "laser for plasmons."Intellectual Merit: This work will fill a very important hole in our understanding of what is possible with energy scavenging. A classic paper by Popovic's group calculated that it is possible to extract up to 20% of the energy of ambient disordered microwave radiation using spiral rectennas, but these calculations did not account for coherence issues and other quantum effects, and they did not really attempt to describe what happens at terahertz frequencies, where feature sizes are smaller. This PI has an excellent background for accounting for such effects, considering one possible way to implement spiral rectennas on smaller length scales -- CNT composite structures. New capabilities in surface plasmonics are also extremely important to the NSF priority Beyond Moore's Law. Broad Impacts: This project will also have a big impact on education at North Carolina Central University, the nation's first state-supported public liberal arts college for Afro-Americans. The cross-cutting and advanced nature of this work, and the PI's plan for integration of research and education, ensure large outreach benefits here. New sources of energy and faster computers may also result.