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At least 19 records

Multilayered luminescent solar concentrators based on engineered quantum dots

Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) based on engineered quantum dots (QDs) are disclosed that include at least one lower band-gap energy LSC layer and at least one higher band-gap energy LSC layer. The higher band-gap energy LSC layer has a higher internal quantum efficiency (IQE) than the lower band-gap energy LSC layer. The lower band-gap energy LSC layer may broadly absorb the remainder of the solar spectrum that is not absorbed by previous layers. An external optical efficiency (EQE) of at least 6%, and in some cases, more than 10%, may be achieved by such LSCs.

Source record↗

Common workflows for computing material properties using different quantum engines

The prediction of material properties based on density-functional theory has become routinely common, thanks, in part, to the steady increase in the number and robustness of available simulation packages. This plurality of codes and methods is both a boon and a burden. While providing great opportunities for cross-verification, these packages adopt different methods, algorithms, and paradigms, making it challenging to choose, master, and efficiently use them. We demonstrate how developing common interfaces for workflows that automatically compute material properties greatly simplifies interoperability and cross-verification. We introduce design rules for reusable, code-agnostic, workflow interfaces to compute well-defined material properties, which we implement for eleven quantum engines and use to compute various material properties. Each implementation encodes carefully selected simulation parameters and workflow logic, making the implementer’s expertise of the quantum engine directly available to non-experts. All workflows are made available as open-source and full reproducibility of the workflows is guaranteed through the use of the AiiDA infrastructure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Next-Generation Parametrically Induced QUantum Engineering (PIQUE 2.0) (Final Technical Report)

This final technical report summarizes the key accomplishments on the project Next-Generation Parametrically-Induced QUantum Engineering (PIQUE) , a BES-funded award received by PI Archana Kamal at University of Massachusetts Lowell. The focus of this award was to enable new quantum information processing functionalities for multi-qubit entanglement and control, using parametric interactions in superconducting quantum circuits.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Quantum Engineering With Hybrid Magnonic Systems and Materials (Invited Paper)

Quantum technology has made tremendous strides over the past two decades with remarkable advances in materials engineering, circuit design and dynamic operation. In particular, the integration of different quantum modules has benefited from hybrid quantum systems, which provide an important pathway for harnessing the different natural advantages of complementary quantum systems and for engineering new functionalities. This review focuses on the current frontiers with respect to utilizing magnetic excitations or magnons for novel quantum functionality. Magnons are the fundamental excitations of magnetically ordered solid-state materials and provide great tunability and exibility for interacting with various quantum modules for integration in diverse quantum systems. The concomitant rich variety of physics and material selections enable exploration of novel quantum phenomena in materials science and engineering. In addition, the relative ease of generating strong coupling and forming hybrid dynamic systems with other excitations makes hybrid magnonics a unique platform for quantum engineering. We start our discussion with circuit-based hybrid magnonic systems, which are coupled with microwave photons and acoustic phonons. Subsequently, we are focusing on the recent progress of magnon-magnon coupling within confined magnetic systems. Next we highlight new opportunities for understanding the interactions between magnons and nitrogen-vacancy centers for quantum sensing and implementing quantum interconnects. Lastly, we focus on the spin excitations and magnon spectra of novel quantum materials investigated with advanced optical characterization.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Preparing angular momentum eigenstates using engineered quantum walks

Coupled angular-momentum eigenstates are widely used in atomic and nuclear physics calculations and are building blocks for spin networks and the Schur transform. To combine two angular momenta J 1 and J 2 , forming eigenstates of their total angular momentum J=J 1 +J 2 , we develop a quantum-walk scheme that does not require inputting O(j 3 ) nonzero Clebsch–Gordan (CG) coefficients classically. In fact, our scheme may be regarded as a unitary method for computing CG coefficients on quantum computers with a typical complexity of O⁡(j) and a worst-case complexity of O⁡(j 3 ). Equivalently, our scheme provides decompositions of the dense CG unitary into sparser unitary operations. Our scheme prepares angular-momentum eigenstates using a sequence of Hamiltonians to move an initial state deterministically to desired final states, which are usually highly entangled states in the computational basis. In contrast with usual quantum walks, whose Hamiltonians are prescribed, we engineer the Hamiltonians in su⁡(2)×su⁡(2), which are inspired by, but different from, Hamiltonians that govern magnetic resonances and dipole interactions. To achieve a deterministic preparation of both ket and bra states, we use projection and destructive interference to double pinch the quantum walks, such that each step is a unit-probability population transfer within a two-level system. We test our state preparation scheme on classical computers, reproducing tables of CG coefficients. Finally, we also implement small test problems on current quantum hardware.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Lateral Confinement in 2D Nanoplatelets: A Strategy to Expand the Colloidal Quantum Engineering Toolbox

Among colloidal nanocrystals, 2D nanoplatelets offer a unique set of properties with exceptionally narrow luminescence and low lasing thresholds. Furthermore, their anisotropic shape expands the playground for the complex design of heterostructures where spectra but also scattering rates can be engineered. A challenge that still remains is to combine shell growth which makes NPLs stable, with spectral tunability. Indeed, most reported shelled nanoplatelets end up being red emitters due to a loss of quantum confinement. Here, the combination of both lateral and in-plane confinements within a single heterostructure is explored. A CdS/CdSe/CdS/CdZnS core–crown–crown shell structure that enables yellow emission is grown and that is responsive to a large range of excitation including visible photons, X-ray photons, electron beams, and electrical excitations. k.p simulations predict that emission tunability of up to several 100 s of meV can be obtained in ideal structures. This material also displays stimulated emission resulting from bi-exciton emission with a low threshold. Once integrated into an LED stack, this material is compatible with sub-bandgap excitation and exhibits high luminance. Scaling of the electroluminescence properties by downsizing the pixel size is also investigated.

2D materials↗

Controlled Spalling of 4H Silicon Carbide with Investigated Spin Coherence for Quantum Engineering Integration

We detail scientific and engineering advances which enable the controlled spalling and layer transfer of single crystal 4H silicon carbide (4H-SiC) from bulk substrates. 4HSiC’s properties, including high thermal conductivity and a wide bandgap, make it an ideal semiconductor for power electronics. Moreover, 4H-SiC is an excellent host of solid-state atomic defect qubits for quantum computing and quantum networking. Because 4H-SiC substrates are expensive (due to long growth times and limited yield), techniques for removal and transfer of bulk-quality films are desirable for substrate reuse and integration of the separated films. In this work, we utilize updated approaches for stressor layer thickness control and spalling crack initiation to demonstrate controlled spalling of 4H-SiC, the highest fracture toughness crystal spalled to date. We achieve coherent spin control of neutral divacancy (VV 0 ) qubit ensembles and measure a quasi-bulk spin T 2 of 79.7 μs in the spalled films.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Quantum heat engine based on quantum interferometry: The SU(1,1) Otto cycle

We present a quantum heat engine based on a quantum Otto cycle whose working substance reproduces the same outcomes as an SU ( 1 , 1 ) interference process at the end of each adiabatic transformation. This device takes advantage of the extraordinary quantum metrological features of the SU ( 1 , 1 ) interferometer to better discriminate the sources of uncertainty of relevant observables during each adiabatic stroke of the cycle. In particular, the SU ( 1 , 1 ) adiabatic transformations enable high-precision estimations of the energy extracted from the adiabatic stroke, despite the presence of thermal fluctuations. Applications to circuit QED platforms are also discussed. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Ferreri, Alessandro (ORCID:0000000185459205)↗

Quantum Workforce Development at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The students applying to LLNL that are interested in quantum computing are being brought up with a universal quantum algorithm experience. The candidates we see have played with Qiskit or the IBM experience, they understand spin dynamics, and a few of them have attended hackathons by Rigetti or another company. These students have all been exposed to universal quantum computing, but not quantum engineering, quantum hardware, or even descriptions of noise. This is in a large part due to the simplified interface in current commercial quantum systems. To broaden the applicant pool, we have begun collaborating with several institutions to train quantum scientists and engineers. We are using the LLNL whitebox approach to testbed access in order to give students a look under the hood of quantum computing operations because that is what we desire in research scientists.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Quantum Software Engineering (Dagstuhl Seminar 24512)

The Dagstuhl Seminar 24512 on "Quantum Software Engineering" was held from December 15 to 20, 2024. It brought together 26 participants from industry and academia from 13 different countries, including senior and junior researchers as well as practitioners in the field of Quantum Software Engineering. The aim of the seminar was to advance software engineering methods and tools for the engineering of hybrid quantum systems by promoting personal interaction and open discussion among researchers who are already working in this emerging area of knowledge. The first day of the seminar was devoted to the topic "When software engineering meets quantum mechanics", while the second day focused on "Quantum software engineering and its challenges." During both days, 16 invited presentations were given. The rest of the seminar was organized into three working groups to address the topics "Quantum Software Design, Modelling and Architecturing", "Adaptive Hybrid Quantum Systems", and "Quantum Software Quality Assurance". The seminar was a very fruitful experience for all participants both in terms of scientific outcomes and in terms of the personal relationships that were generated to jointly address future experiences.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A Quantum Analog Coprocessor for Correlated Electron Systems Simulation

Analog quantum simulation is an approach for studying physical systems that might otherwise be computationally intractable to simulate on classical high-performance computing (HPC) systems. The key idea behind analog quantum simulation is the realization of a physical system with a low-energy effective Hamiltonian that is the same as the low-energy effective Hamiltonian of some target system to be studied. Purpose-built nanoelectronic devices are a natural candidate for implementing the analog quantum simulation of strongly correlated materials that are otherwise challenging to study using classical HPC systems. However, realizing devices that are sufficiently large to study the properties of a non-trivial material system (e.g., those described by a Fermi-Hubbard model) will eventually require the fabrication, control, and measurement of at least 0(10) quantum dots, or other engineered quantum impurities. As a step toward large-scale analog or digital quantum simulation platforms based on nanoelectronic devices, we propose a new approach to analog quantum simulation that makes use of the large Hilbert space dimension of the electronic baths that are used to adjust the occupancy of one or a few engineered quantum impurities. This approach to analog quantum simulation allows us to study a wide array of quantum impurity models. We can further augment the computational power of such an approach by combining it with a classical computer to facilitate dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) calculations. DMFT replaces the solution of a lattice impurity problem with the solution of a family of localized impurity problems with bath couplings that are adjusted to satisfy a self-consistency condition between the two models. In DMFT, the computationally challenging task is the high-accuracy solution of an instance of a quantum impurity model that is determined self-consistently in coordination with a mean-field calculation. We propose using one or a few engineered quantum impurities with adjustable couplings to baths to realize an analog quantum coprocessor that effects the solution of such a model through measurements of a physical quantum impurity, operating in coordination with a classical computer to achieve a self-consistent solution to a DMFT calculation. We focus on implementation details relevant to a number of technologies for which Sandia has design, fabrication, and measurement expertise. The primary technical advances outlined in this report concern the development of a supporting modeling capability. As with all analog quantum simulation platforms, the successful design and operation of individual devices depends critically on one's ability to predict the effective low-energy Hamiltonian governing its dynamics Our project has made this possible and lays the foundation for future experimental implementations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Quantum system engineering for a next-generation search for axion dark matter. Final report

This project pursued two major experimental goals related to the quantum engineering of the ensemble of nuclear spin qubits, as a potential sensing platform for axion-like dark matter: (1) control the fidelity of spin ensemble state preparation, (2) characterize the coherence time of the spin ensemble under different drive conditions. We have successfully achieved these goals. We have experimentally demonstrated control over the polarization of the 207 Pb nuclear spin ensemble, using light-induced transient paramagnetic centers. We have also performed NMR measurements on the 207 Pb spin ensemble in solid ferroelectric PMN-PT, demonstrating the T 2 coherence time of 16.7 ms. We have used this approach to set new experimental limits on the EDM and the gradient interactions of axion-like dark matter in the mass range 162 neV to 166 neV. In addition, having characterized the magnetic resonance properties of the 207 Pb spin ensemble in solid ferroelectric PMN-PT, we have formulated the technical requirements needed to reach the quantum sensitivity limits in a magnetic resonance-based search for axion-like dark matter.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

An Interaction-Free Quantum Measurement-Driven Engine

Recently highly-efficient quantum engines were devised by exploiting the stochastic energy changes induced by quantum measurement. Here we show that such an engine can be based on an interaction-free measurement, in which the meter seemingly does not interact with the measured object. We use a modified version of the Elitzur–Vaidman bomb tester, an interferometric setup able to detect the presence of a bomb triggered by a single photon without exploding it. In our case, a quantum bomb subject to a gravitational force is initially in a superposition of being inside and outside one of the interferometer arms. We show that the bomb can be lifted without blowing up. This occurs when a photon traversing the interferometer is detected at a port that is always dark when the bomb is located outside the arm. The required potential energy is provided by the photon (which plays the role of the meter) even though it was not absorbed by the bomb. A natural interpretation is that the photon traveled through the arm which does not contain the bomb—otherwise the bomb would have exploded—but it implies the surprising conclusion that the energy exchange occurred at a distance despite a local interaction Hamiltonian. We use the weak value formalism to support this interpretation and find evidence of contextuality. Regardless of interpretation, this interaction-free quantum measurement engine is able to lift the most sensitive bomb without setting it off.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Nuclear spin engineering for quantum information science

Semiconductors are the backbone of modern technology, garnering decades of investment in high-quality materials and devices. Electron spin systems in semiconductors, including atomic defects and quantum dots, have been demonstrated in the last two decades to host quantum coherent spin qubits, often with coherent spin–photon interfaces and proximal nuclear spins. These systems are at the center of developing quantum technology. However, new material challenges arise when considering the isotopic composition of host and qubit systems. The isotopic composition governs the nature and concentration of nuclear spins, which naturally occur in leading host materials. These spins generate magnetic noise—detrimental to qubit coherence—but also show promise as local quantum memories and processors, necessitating careful engineering dependent on the targeted application. Reviewing recent experimental and theoretical progress toward understanding local nuclear spin environments in semiconductors, we show this aspect of material engineering as critical to quantum information technology.

Defects↗

Quantum Phase Engineering of Two-Dimensional Post-Transition Metals by Substrates: Toward a Room-Temperature Quantum Anomalous Hall Insulator

In this work, we propose a new strategy to engineer topological and magnetic properties of two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal lattices consisting of post-transition metals. Our first-principles calculations demonstrate that substrates serve as templates to form 2D lattices with high thermodynamic stability, where their topological properties as well as magnetic properties sensitively change as a function of lattice constants, i.e., the system undergoes a first-order phase transition from nonmagnetic to ferromagnetic state above a critical lattice constant. Consequently, substrates can be used to explore versatile magnetic, electronic, and quantum topological properties. We establish phase diagrams of versatile quantum phases in terms of exchange coupling and spin–orbit coupling effectively tuned by the lattice constants. We further reveal the first room-temperature quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect, i.e., Sn on 2√3 × 2√3 graphane is a QAH insulator with a large spin–orbit coupling gap of ~0.2 eV and a Curie temperature of ~380 K by using the 2D anisotropic Heisenberg model.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗