Quantum Engineering Laboratory
Our group studies quantum dynamics in nanoscale materials and devices using optics and electronics. We seek to better understand complex quantum-mechanical systems, with a goal of developing new technologies for communication, computation, and sensing based on quantum physics.
News
- Congratulations, Mathieu!
Congratulations to Mathieu on defending his PhD thesis!
- Congratulations, Sarah!
Congratulations to Sarah on defending her PhD thesis!
- Congratulations, Becca!
Congratulations to Becca on defending her PhD thesis!
- Congratulations, Sarah!
Sarah has won the Haller Prize, awarded to the best graduate student at the 32nd International Conference on Defects in Semiconductors. “The Haller Prize is named after Eugene E. Haller who was a major figure in the semiconductor community and an inspiring mentor for students.” (http://icds2023.org/prizes)
- Welcome, Jeiko!
Jeiko Pujols has joined our group as a first-year PhD student in the ESE department.
Recent Publications
Klein, Amelia R.; Engheta, Nader; Bassett, Lee C.
Designing metasurface optical interfaces for solid-state qubits using many-body adjoint shape optimization Journal Article
In: Optics Express, vol. 32, iss. 22, pp. 38504-38515, 2024.
@article{Klein2024,
title = {Designing metasurface optical interfaces for solid-state qubits using many-body adjoint shape optimization},
author = {Amelia R. Klein and Nader Engheta and Lee C. Bassett},
url = {https://opg.optica.org/oe/fulltext.cfm?uri=oe-32-22-38504&id=561330},
doi = {10.1364/OE.522501},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-10-09},
journal = {Optics Express},
volume = {32},
issue = {22},
pages = {38504-38515},
abstract = {We present a general strategy for the inverse design of metasurfaces composed of elementary shapes. We use it to design a structure that collects and collimates light from nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond. Such metasurfaces constitute scalable optical interfaces for solid-state qubits, enabling efficient photon coupling into optical fibers and eliminating free-space collection optics. The many-body shape optimization strategy is a practical alternative to topology optimization that explicitly enforces material and fabrication constraints throughout the optimization, while still achieving high performance. The metasurface is easily adaptable to other solid-state qubits, and the optimization method is broadly applicable to fabrication-constrained photonic design problems.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
We present a general strategy for the inverse design of metasurfaces composed of elementary shapes. We use it to design a structure that collects and collimates light from nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond. Such metasurfaces constitute scalable optical interfaces for solid-state qubits, enabling efficient photon coupling into optical fibers and eliminating free-space collection optics. The many-body shape optimization strategy is a practical alternative to topology optimization that explicitly enforces material and fabrication constraints throughout the optimization, while still achieving high performance. The metasurface is easily adaptable to other solid-state qubits, and the optimization method is broadly applicable to fabrication-constrained photonic design problems.
Shulevitz, Henry J.; Amirshaghaghi, Ahmad; Ouellet, Mathieu; Brustoloni, Caroline; Yang, Shengsong; Ng, Jonah J.; Huang, Tzu-Yung; Jishkariani, Davit; Murray, Christopher B.; Tsourkas, Andrew; Kagan, Cherie R.; Bassett, Lee C.
Nanodiamond emulsions for enhanced quantum sensing and click-chemistry conjugation Journal Article
In: ACS Applied Nano Materials, vol. 7, iss. 13, pp. 15334-15343, 2024.
@article{Shulevitz2024,
title = {Nanodiamond emulsions for enhanced quantum sensing and click-chemistry conjugation},
author = {Henry J. Shulevitz and Ahmad Amirshaghaghi and Mathieu Ouellet and Caroline Brustoloni and Shengsong Yang and Jonah J. Ng and Tzu-Yung Huang and Davit Jishkariani and Christopher B. Murray and Andrew Tsourkas and Cherie R. Kagan and Lee C. Bassett},
url = {https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsanm.4c01699},
doi = {10.1021/acsanm.4c01699},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-06-29},
urldate = {2023-12-04},
journal = {ACS Applied Nano Materials},
volume = {7},
issue = {13},
pages = {15334-15343},
abstract = {Nanodiamonds containing nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers can serve as colloidal quantum sensors of local fields in biological and chemical environments. However, nanodiamond surfaces are challenging to modify without degrading their colloidal stability or the NV center’s optical and spin properties. We present a simple and general method to coat nanodiamonds with a thin emulsion layer that preserves their quantum features, maintains their colloidal stability, and provides functional groups for subsequent cross-linking and click-chemistry conjugation reactions. To demonstrate this technique, we decorated nanodiamonds with combinations of carboxyl- and azide-terminated amphiphiles that enable conjugation using two different strategies. A theoretical model is developed to understand the effect of the emulsion layer on the NV center’s spin lifetime, and T1 relaxometry is employed to quantify the nanodiamonds’ chemical sensitivity to paramagnetic ions. This general approach to nanodiamond surface functionalization will enable advances in quantum nanomedicine and biological sensing.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Nanodiamonds containing nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers can serve as colloidal quantum sensors of local fields in biological and chemical environments. However, nanodiamond surfaces are challenging to modify without degrading their colloidal stability or the NV center’s optical and spin properties. We present a simple and general method to coat nanodiamonds with a thin emulsion layer that preserves their quantum features, maintains their colloidal stability, and provides functional groups for subsequent cross-linking and click-chemistry conjugation reactions. To demonstrate this technique, we decorated nanodiamonds with combinations of carboxyl- and azide-terminated amphiphiles that enable conjugation using two different strategies. A theoretical model is developed to understand the effect of the emulsion layer on the NV center’s spin lifetime, and T1 relaxometry is employed to quantify the nanodiamonds’ chemical sensitivity to paramagnetic ions. This general approach to nanodiamond surface functionalization will enable advances in quantum nanomedicine and biological sensing.
Patel, Raj N.; Fishman, Rebecca E. K.; Huang, Tzu-Yung; Gusdorff, Jordan A.; Fehr, David A.; Hopper, David A.; Breitweiser, S. Alex; Porat, Benjamin; Flatté, Michael E.; Bassett, Lee C.
Room Temperature Dynamics of an Optically Addressable Single Spin in Hexagonal Boron Nitride Journal Article
In: Nano Letters, vol. 24, iss. 25, pp. 7623-7628, 2024.
@article{Patel2024,
title = {Room Temperature Dynamics of an Optically Addressable Single Spin in Hexagonal Boron Nitride},
author = {Raj N. Patel and Rebecca E. K. Fishman and Tzu-Yung Huang and Jordan A. Gusdorff and David A. Fehr and David A. Hopper and S. Alex Breitweiser and Benjamin Porat and Michael E. Flatté and Lee C. Bassett},
url = {https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c01333},
doi = {10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c01333},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-06-11},
urldate = {2024-06-11},
journal = {Nano Letters},
volume = {24},
issue = {25},
pages = {7623-7628},
abstract = {Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) hosts pure single-photon emitters that have shown evidence of optically detected electronic spin dynamics. However, the electrical and chemical structures of these optically addressable spins are unknown, and the nature of their spin-optical interactions remains mysterious. Here, we use time-domain optical and microwave experiments to characterize a single emitter in h-BN exhibiting room temperature optically detected magnetic resonance. Using dynamical simulations, we constrain and quantify transition rates in the model, and we design optical control protocols that optimize the signal-to-noise ratio for spin readout. This constitutes a necessary step toward quantum control of spin states in h-BN.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) hosts pure single-photon emitters that have shown evidence of optically detected electronic spin dynamics. However, the electrical and chemical structures of these optically addressable spins are unknown, and the nature of their spin-optical interactions remains mysterious. Here, we use time-domain optical and microwave experiments to characterize a single emitter in h-BN exhibiting room temperature optically detected magnetic resonance. Using dynamical simulations, we constrain and quantify transition rates in the model, and we design optical control protocols that optimize the signal-to-noise ratio for spin readout. This constitutes a necessary step toward quantum control of spin states in h-BN.
Breitweiser, S. Alex; Ouellet, Mathieu; Huang, Tzu-Yung; Taminiau, Tim H.; Bassett, Lee C.
Quadrupolar resonance spectroscopy of individual nuclei using a room-temperature quantum sensor Journal Article Forthcoming
In: Forthcoming.
@article{Breitweiser2024,
title = {Quadrupolar resonance spectroscopy of individual nuclei using a room-temperature quantum sensor},
author = {S. Alex Breitweiser and Mathieu Ouellet and Tzu-Yung Huang and Tim H. Taminiau and Lee C. Bassett},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.14859},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-06-05},
abstract = {Nuclear quadrupolar resonance (NQR) spectroscopy reveals chemical bonding patterns in materials and molecules through the unique coupling between nuclear spins and local fields. However, traditional NQR techniques require macroscopic ensembles of nuclei to yield a detectable signal, which precludes the study of individual molecules and obscures molecule-to-molecule variations due to local perturbations or deformations. Optically active electronic spin qubits, such as the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond, facilitate the detection and control of individual nuclei through their local magnetic couplings. Here, we use NV centers to perform NQR spectroscopy on their associated nitrogen-14 (14N) nuclei at room temperature. In mapping the nuclear quadrupolar Hamiltonian, we resolve minute variations between individual nuclei. The measurements further reveal correlations between the parameters in the NV center's electronic spin Hamiltonian and the 14N quadropolar Hamiltonian, as well as a previously unreported Hamiltonian term that results from symmetry breaking. We further design pulse sequences to initialize, readout, and control the quantum evolution of the 14N nuclear state using the nuclear quadrupolar Hamiltonian.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {forthcoming},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Nuclear quadrupolar resonance (NQR) spectroscopy reveals chemical bonding patterns in materials and molecules through the unique coupling between nuclear spins and local fields. However, traditional NQR techniques require macroscopic ensembles of nuclei to yield a detectable signal, which precludes the study of individual molecules and obscures molecule-to-molecule variations due to local perturbations or deformations. Optically active electronic spin qubits, such as the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond, facilitate the detection and control of individual nuclei through their local magnetic couplings. Here, we use NV centers to perform NQR spectroscopy on their associated nitrogen-14 (14N) nuclei at room temperature. In mapping the nuclear quadrupolar Hamiltonian, we resolve minute variations between individual nuclei. The measurements further reveal correlations between the parameters in the NV center's electronic spin Hamiltonian and the 14N quadropolar Hamiltonian, as well as a previously unreported Hamiltonian term that results from symmetry breaking. We further design pulse sequences to initialize, readout, and control the quantum evolution of the 14N nuclear state using the nuclear quadrupolar Hamiltonian.
Keneipp, Rachael N.; Gusdorff, Jordan A.; Bhatia, Pia; Shin, Trey T.; Bassett, Lee C.; Drndić, Marija
Nanoscale Sculpting of Hexagonal Boron Nitride with an Electron Beam Journal Article
In: Journal of Physical Chemistry C, vol. 128, no. 21, pp. 8741–8749, 2024.
@article{Keneipp2024,
title = {Nanoscale Sculpting of Hexagonal Boron Nitride with an Electron Beam},
author = {Rachael N. Keneipp and Jordan A. Gusdorff and Pia Bhatia and Trey T. Shin and Lee C. Bassett and Marija Drndić},
url = {https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jpcc.4c02038},
doi = {10.1021/acs.jpcc.4c02038},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-05-17},
journal = {Journal of Physical Chemistry C},
volume = {128},
number = {21},
pages = {8741–8749},
abstract = {Creating sub- to few-nanometer defects and nanopores in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) opens opportunities for engineering quantum emitters and for nanofluidic and sensing applications. Using the electron beam in the aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope, we demonstrate modification, thinning, and drilling of features in few-layer hBN membranes (∼5 to 20 nm-thick). The atomic composition is monitored with electron energy loss spectroscopy, which also facilitates drift correction. We report effects of electron beam energy and exposure times on defect size and structure. While previous studies focused on beam energies of ≤80 keV to avoid material damage, we show that drilling is favorable at a higher beam energy of 200 keV. The drilling rate at 200 keV is about 10 times larger than at 80 keV (∼1.2 vs 0.1 nm/min), and smaller pores are achievable with minimized damage to the surrounding material. Thinned hBN nanoscale features demonstrate enhanced emission via photoluminescence spectroscopy.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Creating sub- to few-nanometer defects and nanopores in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) opens opportunities for engineering quantum emitters and for nanofluidic and sensing applications. Using the electron beam in the aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope, we demonstrate modification, thinning, and drilling of features in few-layer hBN membranes (∼5 to 20 nm-thick). The atomic composition is monitored with electron energy loss spectroscopy, which also facilitates drift correction. We report effects of electron beam energy and exposure times on defect size and structure. While previous studies focused on beam energies of ≤80 keV to avoid material damage, we show that drilling is favorable at a higher beam energy of 200 keV. The drilling rate at 200 keV is about 10 times larger than at 80 keV (∼1.2 vs 0.1 nm/min), and smaller pores are achievable with minimized damage to the surrounding material. Thinned hBN nanoscale features demonstrate enhanced emission via photoluminescence spectroscopy.