Quantum computation is a new paradigm that can solve highly complex problems that are difficult to tackle with current computing technology. To realize a practical quantum computer, an important prerequisite is the construction of the basic hardware units for performing quantum computation, called qubits. The qubit is analogous to the bit found in modern digital computers. However, unlike a bit, which can be in one of two different states, qubits can exist in many different states. One of the challenges in quantum computation is the construction of the qubits in large scale and in a robust manner for practical and low-cost implementation of quantum computation. With support from the Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry program in the Division of Chemistry, Professors Dong Son and Alexey Akimov at Texas A&M University are developing a new qubit platform based on chemically synthesized quantum dots that can be mass-produced with extremely high uniformity and assembled in a precisely controlled manner. While the fabrication and positioning of the QDs on the nanometer scale is very risky, the research may have broad implications for the development of quantum computers and quantum information systems. The project also provides training opportunities for students, in an interdisciplinary environment that combines chemistry and quantum optics.
Working alongside with their students, Professors Son and Akimov are developing templating strategies to fabricate qubit structures based on finite-sized arrays of perovskite quantum dots, with each structure being replicated many times in large scale. The approach takes advantage of recent progress in chemical synthesis of structurally identical quantum dots used as the building blocks of the qubits. Understanding and controlling the behavior of the quantum mechanically coupled excitons and spins of the magnetic impurities doped in the quantum dot arrays is particularly important to verify the functionality of the new structures. For this purpose, photoluminescence optical microscopy methods are used to characterize the qubit structures and to confirm the quantum mechanical behavior needed for the scaled-up qubit platform to function as a robust quantum computer. These are necessary steps to take towards the application of quantum computation to solve real-world problems. The team, composed of a chemist and a physicist, is also actively developing the interdisciplinary and outreach programs that utilize the new frontiers of modern science to educate the next-generation scientists.
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.
