Suppression of Thermal Losses in Emerging Quantum Materials

Quantum materials are materials whose functions are intimately associated with phenomena and properties with increased precision at the atomic level, e.g. the detailed properties of the electrons and how the nuclei move.

Thermal loss through vibrational coupling is a critical bottleneck, limiting several quantum materials to reach their full potential.

The proposed project aims to acquire novel understanding of ultrafast electronic processes and the electronic and thermal relaxation in several classes of energy-related materials.

The electron-lattice and phonon-phonon interaction will be controlled by suppression of vibrational degrees of motion through low dimensionality and inclusion of heavy elements.

These abilities to control the photo-carrier formation and suppression of the thermalization process bear promise of radically improved quantum efficiencies and suppressed noise in existing and emerging quantum materials.

This in turn is related to an anticipated increase in energy conversion efficiency for light emission, photovoltaic, sensing and emerging quantum optoelectronics, including some of the hardware platforms that now are considered for quantum computing.

The project includes key development of ultrafast stimulated- and hyper-Raman methodologies, allowing direct measurements of polarization and vibration properties that otherwise only can be indirectly assessed, and allows for posing and answering scientific questions that otherwise are inaccessible.