Bright and Thermally-stable Quantum Emission
Abstract
Single photon emitter (SPE) is the basic building block for quantum information processing and quantum communication technology. Substantial attentions have been devoted to realizing robust and deterministic SPEs for advanced quantum cryptography, such as quantum key distribution (QKD). Despite the unconditional security in communication promised by quantum cryptography, most of the practical realizations of quantum key distribution currently rely on weak coherent pulses in which two or more photons are emitted at a time. To exploit the fullest security granted by the fundamental rules of quantum mechanics, a system should encrypt each unit of information, in the form of polarization, into a single photon. Consequently, the use of a true single photon source is required to substantially improve the performance of future quantum key distribution schemes. In this Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) proposal, the Principal Investigator (PI) Nam proposes to acquire a cryogenic pump-probe micro-spectroscopy facility capable of hyperspectral imaging of quantum emission at varying temperatures. This new facility, which is unavailable at UC Irvine (UCI), will enable our study of deterministic single photon emission (or quantum emission) in strained transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterostructures. In particular, this new facility will help answer our scientific question on how controlled local straining might increase the brightness (i.e., oscillator strength) of single exciton emission through exciton funneling and further allow higher temperature quantum emission through stabilization of exciton localization. The DURIP award will accelerate PI Nam’s current AFOSR project. Ultra-stable pump-probe micro-spectroscopy facility with a wide range of temperature (3.4 K – 350 K) and high temperature stability (less than15 mK) will be transformative to our effort to realizing higher temperature-operable, deterministic quantum emitters in near IR. The DURIP award will also allow transformative educational impact by training Underrepresented Minority (URM) undergraduate students as well as ROTC students by providing training opportunities in pump-probe micro-spectroscopy in undergraduate laboratories. As a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), UCI has over 26percent Hispanic-Latino undergraduates. This grant will also strengthen the collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in imaging quantum emission of strained TMD heterostructures. The proposed facility will not only provide an opportunity to advance our fundamental understanding of strained quantum emission but also enable discoveries of new quantum states of strained TMDs (e.g., Bose-Einstein condensation of excitons in strained TMDs) for future disruptive capabilities that are of critical interest to the U.S. Air and Space Forces. Successful completion of this effort will position the PI and UCI to further build off the initial results in order to identify and rapidly advance future quantum emitter technologies based on 2D materials for critical Air Force needs in quantum communications, cybersecurity, and position navigation and timing (PNT).
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 29, 2024
- Source ID
- FA95502310134
Entities
People
- SungWoo Nam
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of California, Irvine