EAGER: Quantum Manufacturing: Developing a Deterministic, 3D Printer for Quantum Defects

基于量子现象的新设备，如量子计算机和网络，需要具有极高精度的新的可靠和可扩展的制造方法。这些器件通常由离散的原子或纳米级结构组成，必须精确地放置在所需的位置。现有的方法来创建这些设备是耗时的，与许多材料不兼容，缺乏原子精度，最重要的是，是不可靠的。因此，需要不可区分的纳米结构的接口网络的可扩展器件生产是困难的。EARLY概念探索性研究（EAGER）量子制造奖支持基础研究，以开发一种强大且可扩展的制造方法，将纳米材料纳入具有量子技术所需原子精度的设备中。新工艺能够将具有所需质量的纳米材料从溶液中确定性地打印到具有完全方向控制的精确位置。这种方法将材料合成与设备制造分开，以提高性能，并使量子设备能够基于更精确的合成材料。这些能力不仅解决了量子器件的制造限制，还解决了基于纳米材料的能源、通信和医学应用的制造限制。因此，该奖项的进步通过在新兴的量子技术市场建立制造专业知识，通过在新一代传感器和网络中保护国防，以及通过推进能源安全（化学催化和太阳能），使美国经济和社会受益。多学科研究项目结合了流体力学，模拟，光学设计和材料科学，为研究生和本科生提供独特的培训。核心知识、模拟工具和设备设计将得到传播，以便广泛采用制造方法来加速这些关键领域的研究和开发。量子技术的成功生产需要将高质量的量子比特纳入100 nm 3区域。目前的制造方法是随机的，仅限于可以通过光刻加工的材料，并且通常缺乏这种精度。这种制造方法涉及一种方法，其中纳米结构量子位通过热光力合成，表征和打印。分离这些过程解除了兼容性限制，实现了确定性制造，并减轻了退相干的来源。该项目旨在通过评估第一原理模拟确定的关键变量来实现100 nm 3的打印。这些包括纳米材料的光学特性，如它们的几何形状和折射率，以及胶体环境和力，如溶剂热物理参数。这些结果将被纳入一个基于物理的模型，以优化打印精度。利用这种方法，研究团队旨在开发结构-性能关系，以确定增强的打印精度和材料性能如何影响设备行为，包括一致性。该奖项反映了NSF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。

New devices based on quantum phenomena, like quantum computers and networks, require new reliable and scalable manufacturing methods with extreme precision. These devices are often comprised of discrete atoms or nanoscale structures that must be exactly placed into desired locations. Existing methods to create these devices are time-consuming, incompatible with many materials, lack atomic precision, and, most significantly, are unreliable. As a result, scalable device production, which requires interfacing networks of indistinguishable nanostructures, is difficult. This EArly-concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) Quantum Manufacturing award supports fundamental research to develop a robust and scalable manufacturing approach to incorporate nanomaterials into devices with the atomic precision required for quantum technologies. The new process enables the deterministic printing of nanomaterials with desired qualities from solutions into precise locations with full orientation control. This approach separates material synthesis from device manufacturing to improve performance and enables quantum devices based on more precisely synthesized materials. These capabilities address manufacturing limitations for not only quantum devices, but also energy, communication, and medicine applications based on nanomaterials. Thus, advances from this award benefit both the U.S. economy and society by establishing manufacturing expertise in the emerging quantum technologies market, by securing national defense in a new generation of sensors and networks, and by advancing energy security (chemical catalysis and solar). The multi-disciplinary research project incorporates fluid mechanics, simulations, optics design, and materials science to provide unique training for graduate and undergraduate students. The core knowledge, simulation tools, and equipment designs will be disseminated so that the manufacturing approach can be broadly adopted to accelerate research and development in these critical fields.The successful production of quantum technologies requires incorporating high-quality qubits into 100 nm3 regions. Current manufacturing approaches are stochastic, restricted to materials that can be processed by lithography, and often lack this precision. This manufacturing method involves an approach whereby nanostructured qubits are synthesized, characterized, and printed via thermo-optic forces. Separating these processes lifts compatibility restrictions, enables deterministic manufacturing, and mitigates sources of decoherence. This project aims to achieve 100 nm3 printing by assessing critical variables identified by first-principles simulations. These include nanomaterial optical properties, such as their geometry and refractive index, and the colloidal environment and forces, such as solvent thermophysical parameters. These results will be incorporated into a physics-based model to optimize printing precision. Leveraging this method, the research team aims to develop structure-property relationships to establish how enhanced printing precision and material properties influence device behavior, including coherence.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.