NSF CAREER: Enhancing the Optical Properties of Topological Dirac and Weyl Semimetals

材料科学的进步对现代世界每一次工业革命的成功都起到了重要作用，包括当前的量子革命。为了实现植根于量子力学基础上的技术优势，美国建立了国家量子计划，其中包括量子材料和“量子智能”劳动力的形成。在这个项目中，首席研究员的目标是通过一个综合的研究和教育计划来满足这两个要求，该计划以增强材料的物理性能为中心，使其具有抗变形的能力。因此，该项目解决了光控电子和光子学器件中材料技术和应用实验研究的具体需求。通过在大电场和磁场影响下的测量，首席研究员和他的团队将评估提高可靠性、速度和耐用性的性能，从而实现量子通信、计算和传感。此外，综合教育计划广泛影响科学界并整合研究，以增加对高磁场科学的参与，特别是来自传统黑人学院和大学（HBCUs）物理和材料科学社区。该研究计划将非线性光学和等离子体学结合起来，探索重要的科学挑战，如拓扑半金属的掺杂，高磁场对狄拉克和Weyl半金属的影响，以及狄拉克和Weyl半金属作为自然存在的负折射率材料在技术上重要的红外区域的存在。红外到太赫兹范围内的非线性光谱学技术将用于研究拓扑半金属的光学性质如何通过降低维数（体与单层）来增强；图案化成超表面或混合超材料；外加场（直流、光/太赫兹或磁场）。首席研究员还将通过一项综合研究和教育计划广泛影响科学界：向HBCU物理社区分发低成本、长时间脉冲高磁场（高达10 T）设备，以增加对高磁场科学的参与；将仪器整合到霍华德大学和四所hbcu的物理课程中；并通过在霍华德大学和全国黑人物理学会举办的研讨会，提高黑人物理本科生的物理身份。与科学界的进一步接触包括创建专门用于开发低成本脉冲磁场设备的YouTube和Slack频道。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。

Advances in materials science are instrumental to the success of each industrial revolution of the modern world, including the current quantum revolution. To achieve the technological advantages rooted in the basis of quantum mechanics, the United States established the National Quantum Initiative which included quantum materials and the formation of a “quantum-smart” workforce. In this project, the Principal Investigator aims to address both requirements through an integrated research and education plan centered around enhancing materials whose physical properties are robust against deformation. Therefore, the project addresses the specific need for experimental studies of materials with technologies and applications in light controlled electronic and photonics devices. Through measurements under the influence of large electric and magnetic fields, the Principal Investigator and his team will assess the performance for increased reliability, speed and durability leading to quantum-enabled communications, computing, and sensing. Furthermore, the comprehensive education plan broadly impacts the scientific community and integrates the research to increase participation in high magnetic field science, especially from the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) physics and materials science communities. The research plan merges nonlinear optics and plasmonics to explore important scientific challenges such as doping of topological semimetals, the influence of high magnetic fields on Dirac and Weyl semimetals and the existence of Dirac and Weyl semimetals as naturally occurring negative index materials in the technologically important infrared regime. Nonlinear optical spectroscopy techniques in the infrared to terahertz range will be used to study how the optical properties of topological semimetals are enhanced by: reducing dimensionality (bulk vs. monolayer); patterning into metasurfaces or hybrid metamaterials; and applying external fields (DC, optical/THz or magnetic field). The Principal Investigator will also broadly impact the scientific community through an integrated research and education plan that: distributes, low-cost, long duration pulsed high magnetic field (up to 10 T) apparatus to the HBCU Physics Community for increased participation in High Magnetic Field science; integrates the apparatus into the physics curricula at Howard and 4 partner HBCUs; and improves the physics identity of Black undergraduate Physics students through workshops hosted at Howard and the National Society of Black Physics Meeting. Further outreach to the scientific community includes the creation of a YouTube and Slack channels specific to development of low-cost pulsed magnetic field apparatus.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.