****NON-TECHNICAL ABSTRACT**** Advances in material fabrication and experimental techniques have made it possible to create nanostructures whose quantum properties can be manipulated in controlled ways. These new capabilities have extended the ideas of quantum mechanics to structures larger than a single atom and are creating the potential for fundamentally new technologies for computation and communication. To determine the potential for such applications it is necessary to gain a fundamental understanding of interactions between the electrons in a nanostructure and other quantum mechanical properties of that structure. These quantum mechanical properties include the vibrations (known as phonons) and/or the magnetic properties of the nuclei (known as nuclear spin) in the nanostructure. This CAREER award supports a project that will carry out studies to gain this understanding. Research and education are seamlessly integrated throughout the project. To better educate the public, a nanoscience display will be constructed for the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ. High school and undergraduate level research projects will be supported through involvement in the Partners in Science program and the REU program. The undergraduate Experimental Physics Seminar at Princeton will be reformatted to better emulate a realistic research environment. Students in this course will be required to form teams and propose an experiment that will take place throughout the remainder of the semester. This hands-on laboratory format is critical for teaching students how to operate in a realistic research setting and will foster cooperative learning. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows associated with this CAREER project will learn some of the most advanced experimental techniques used today in studying the physics of systems that are on the nanoscale or slightly larger.
This CAREER award supports a project focusing on studies of fundamental interactions between coupled quantum degrees of freedom in nanostructures. A series of experiments will be performed to probe electron-phonon coupling and electron-nuclear spin interactions in semiconductor quantum dots and multiple quantum dot systems. The understanding gained could have an impact on future technologies using quantum dots. Research and education are seamlessly integrated throughout the proposal. Activities include outreach to the general public, involving high school and undergraduate in research projects, and the development of a sophomore level seminar on experimental physics. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows associated with this CAREER project will learn low temperature experimental techniques, nanofabrication, and high frequency measurement; all skills that will provide an excellent preparation for future careers in academia or industrial research.
