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

NSF 职业：增强拓扑狄拉克和韦尔半金属的光学性质

• 批准号: 2047905
• 负责人: Thomas Searles
• 金额: $ 55.68万
• 依托单位: Howard University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-06-01 至 2027-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2047905&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; CAREER; Enhancing; Optical; Properties

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.

材料科学的进步对现代世界的每一次工业革命的成功（包括当前的量子革命）有用。为了实现基于量子力学基础的技术优势，美国建立了国家量子计划，其中包括量子材料和形成“量子智能”劳动力。在该项目中，首席研究人员旨在通过综合研究和教育计划来满足这两种要求，该计划围绕增强物理特性可抵抗变形的材料。因此，该项目解决了通过光控制电子和光子设备中技术和应用的材料实验研究的特定需求。通过在大型电场和磁场的影响下的测量，主要研究员及其团队将评估可靠性，速度和耐用性的提高性能，从而导致量子能实现量子的通信，计算和灵敏度。此外，《综合教育计划》广泛地影响了科学界并整合了研究以增加对高磁场科学的参与，尤其是从历史悠久的黑人学院（HBCUS）物理学和材料科学社区中。该研究计划合并了非线性光学和质量质学，以探索重要的科学挑战，例如拓扑半学的掺杂，高磁场对狄拉克和Weyl半法的影响以及DIRAC和WEYL半含量的存在，因为在技术上重要的基金制度中，自然出现了负面索引材料。非线性光谱技术中的非线性光谱技术将用于研究拓扑半学的光学特性如何通过以下方面增强：降低维度（散装与单层）；构图成元外或杂种材料；并应用外场（DC，光学/THZ或磁场）。首席研究者还将通过一项综合研究和教育计划广泛影响科学界：分布，低成本，长时间持续时间脉冲高磁场（最高10 t）设备对HBCU物理学界，以增加参与高磁场科学的参与；将这些设备集成到霍华德和4个合作伙伴HBCUS的Physis课程中；并通过在霍华德举行的研讨会和国家黑人物理学会会议上举办的研讨会来改善黑人本科生的物理身份。与科学界的进一步宣传包括创建YouTube和针对低成本脉冲磁场设备开发的松弛渠道。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响来评估NSF的法定任务，并被认为是宝贵的支持。