EPSCOR Research Fellows: NSF: Molecular control and probe for emergent quantum phenomena at interfaces

The flow and location of electrons determine whether materials can conduct electricity or act as insulators, forming the foundation of electronics. In this context, electrons are typically considered free, non-interacting particles. However, in some solid-state materials, electrons strongly interact with each other.

These electrons can exhibit highly cooperative behaviors, such as traveling in pairs without resistance, a phenomenon known as superconductivity. Precise control and examination of electron-electron interactions are crucial for advanced information technologies. This project aims to control and visualize the interactions of electrons in atomically-thin materials with sub-nanometer-to-nanometer accuracy.

Visualizing the electronic structures of materials with high accuracy, which is currently lacking at Brown University, is critical for studying functional materials. In this regard, the project will take advantage of the advanced surface imaging facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and establish a long-term collaboration between Brown researchers and BNL scientists in quantum science.

The project has a potential to transform the PI’s career trajectory and benefit to Brown and to the jurisdiction with the new collaborations. Additionally, the project will involve local high school students in research at Brown and develop outreach modules deliver a basic understanding of quantum phenomena to K-12 students in Rhode Island.

This Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) EPSCoR Research Fellows proposal will provide a fellowship to an Assistant Professor and training for a graduate student at Brown University. Quantum phase transitions, headlined by strongly correlated electrons, have been a major stream in modern physical sciences and play a critical role in quantum information sciences and technologies.

Despite their realization in 2D materials, high-precision control and probing of quantum phases down to the molecular level remain a formidable challenge in current research of quantum materials. Tackling this grand challenge requires precise control over the confinement of electronic density of states (DOS), and the ability to detect local static and dynamic information of quantum phases.

Leveraging expertise in molecular design and synthesis and 2D device fabrications in the PI’s Lab at Brown University, along with the state-of-the-art scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), the PI will exploit exquisite control in molecular chemistry to realize (1) the control of DOS in 2D systems via 2D-molecule interfacial interactions, and (2) the detection of local quantum phases in 2D materials at the molecular-level precision. These research endeavors will open the door to an entirely new route to realizing strongly correlated systems based on molecular assemblies and will enable the high-spatial and temporal-precision detection of local static and dynamic quantum phase information using molecular messengers.

The PI and graduate student from Brown will periodically visit BNL to perform and discuss the proposed experiments; BNL scientists will also visit Brown University to plan joint experiments and delivery seminar. These collaborative efforts will enable a sustainable collaboration between the two institutions beyond the award period.

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.