Diana L. Huffaker - US grants

Abstract

The program objective is to explore the growth, structure, optical and electronic transport properties of III-V patterned nanopillars formed on silicon substrate for potential novel electronic and optoelectronic applications. The pillar formation involves a hybrid approach which combines a lithographically patterned substrate and a catalyst layer using either molecular beam or metal organic vapour phase epitaxial techniques. The introduction of the catalyst enables highly crystalline pillar formation despite the 13% lattice-mismatch to the silicon substrate. This is a promising approach to integration of direct bandgap, high mobility III-V nanostructures into the CMOS platform.

The Intellectual merit of this proposal is the novel approach that will enable patterned selective growth of III-V nanopillars within a masked Si substrate, by manipulating the diffusion process of catalytic seeds on the substrates. In the end, a III-V vertical pillar based LED and photodetector on the same Si substrate will be fabricated, as a demonstration of the transformative concept of this heterogeneous integration of on-chip optical interconnect. The scientific outcomes will have applications in future high speed, low power electronic devices and on-chip opto-electronics.

The Broader impacts of this activity combines expertise and infrastructure from two universities in complementary areas of nanomaterials growth, characterization, patterning, device fabrication and modeling. The exposure and training of the next generation of scientists and engineers occurs through substantial involvement of graduate, undergraduate students, targeted toward the participation of underrepresented groups. Specific involvement of high school students during summer programs is planned for each year at UCLA and ASU.

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009(Public Law 111-5). This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) award supports a program at the University of California, Los Angeles on the topic of clean energy for green industry. An interdisciplinary approach to graduate education is designed to train U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers for leadership roles in the clean energy sector. The technical thrusts merge three scientific areas of energy harvesting, storage and conservation with policy and business to address complex clean energy issues and identify areas for transformational research. Through this foundational structure, this IGERT addresses the urgent societal challenge of meeting increasing energy needs without further negatively affecting the environment. The development of such solutions is only feasible through university-industry-local government partnerships with highly-skilled, broadly-educated, globally-minded leadership. Such partnerships have high potential for economic development in urban areas primed for growth in this sector, with a well-trained workforce, a supportive government and visionary industrial foundations. Close interaction with industry is fostered through industrial innovation partners, intellectual property development and rapid technology transfer for job creation. Emphasis is placed on economic expansion through clean energy research, new business, highly trained workforce development, equity and inclusion. Program strategies include cross-disciplinary, integrated research and education training, modular clean energy curriculum for both on-campus and on-line dissemination, diversity and inclusion. The overarching theme of energy harvesting, storage, conservation and policy is echoed in integrated research, education and service components. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.

Technical: This project seeks fundamental understanding of surface kinetics and crystal formation with respect to patterned nanopillar MOCVD epitaxy. Specific goals are to establish a physical model to predict preferential adatom incorporation on III-V semiconductor nanopillars, and to experimentally verify and optimize the formation and characteristics of the nanopillar structures. The project has three primary components: 1) experiment verifiable predictive physical modeling of 3D surface dynamics, 2) correlated nanopillar characterizations and analytical simulations, and 3) controlled preferential nanopillar epitaxy on predetermined sites. Unlike semiconductor nanowires grown using catalytic metal nanoparticles (e.g., Au), these nanopillars are grown without catalysts on masked substrates with lithographically defined nanopatterns. This approach obviates metallic contamination and provides nanopillar placement, along with subsequent device mask registration. Simulation of atomic surface dynamics, based on ab-initio density functional theory, Wulff's theory and integrated with elastic strain and thermal kinetics components, will be conducted to relate preferential adatom incorporation to nanopillar faceting, surface energy, and growth parameters. Correlated measurements of structural, compositional, electrical, and optical properties will be performed, and combined with mathematical simulation for extraction of nanopillar properties including surface state density, carrier dynamics, and quantum effects.

Non-technical: The project addresses basic research issues in a topical area of materials science with technological relevance in electronics and photonics. The materials and nanostructures being studied can potentially serve as basic building blocks for advanced optoelectronic devices. The project emphasizes integrated education and research in training of pre-college, undergraduate, and graduate students through laboratory participation, complementary coursework development, and scientifically focused community K-12 involvement. Both PIs are strongly committed to inclusion and broadening participation of under-represented minority groups in undergraduate and graduate research. Support for undergraduate laboratory employment is budgeted and a plan is in place for focused recruiting through student URM (underrepresented minorities) societies and historically URM colleges, as well through the UCLA Center for Engineering Excellence and Diversity (CEED). Technology transfer is included through collaboration with several companies and national laboratories.

The objective of this research is to investigate quantum-dots grown within semiconductor nanowires for terahertz lasers that operate at room-temperature. Semiconductor quantum-dot materials are excellent candidates for intersublevel detectors and emitters because of their dramatic suppression of electronic energy relaxation assisted by optical-phonon scattering. A collaborative research effort will proceed in three stages: (i) rational growth of axial and core/shell heterostructures in nanowires for the formation of coupled-quantum dots, (ii) measurement and characterization of nanowire intersublevel absorption using infrared spectroscopy, and (iii) investigation of nanowire quantum-dot superlattices for electroluminescence and stimulated emission.

The intellectual merit is the use of nanowire quantum-dots for intersublevel cascade lasers, which are expected to solve a fundamental limitation of conventional planar THz quantum-cascade lasers, where non-radiative phonon-assisted relaxation prevents room temperature operation. Selective-area MOCVD epitaxy without metal catalysts will be used to grow high-aspect ratio InGaAs/GaAs semiconductor nanowires using lithographically defined oxide growth masks, with embedded axial quantum dots for efficient dot-to-dot tunneling transport.

The broader impacts are the development of a class of low-dimensional III-V semiconductor nanomaterials with highly engineerable quantum-electronic properties. This work will advance terahertz materials and technology, where sources and detectors are desired for sensing, imaging, and spectroscopy. The program will also integrate education and research in training of undergraduate/graduate students through laboratory research participation, complementary coursework development, and scientifically focused community K?12 involvement. A plan is in place for focused recruiting of undergraduate student researchers through student underrepresented minority societies and the UCLA Center for Engineering Excellence and Diversity.

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:
In this proposal, supported by the NSF CHE-DMR-DMS SOLAR Initiative, PIs describe their vision for new hybrid photovoltaic materials via nanoscale integration of organic and inorganic materials to exploit the unprecedented high extinction coefficient of conjugated polymers and high carrier mobility of the solid-state semiconductors. This study will address many fundamental questions pertinent to organic-inorganic hybrid solar cells that utilize nanoscale structures. Through unique world-class expertise in chemistry, materials, devices and mathematics, this project explores the effects of scale and structure as it applies to interface quality, material structure, energy transfer and electronic behavior. This work includes simultaneous study of polymer synthesis, polymer and nanostructure material as well as geometrical parameter optimization and spectroscopic study and device development. One of the compelling aspects of this work is the synthesis of polymers with complementary absorption and band offset to III-As and III-P inorganic semiconductors supported by mathematical calculations. In parallel, an in depth study will be conducted in the development of optimal nanostructure design for efficient light coupling, absorption and carrier extraction. A primary focus of this work will be on the roles of surface states, surface passivation and electronic coupling between organic semiconductors and inorganic nanostructures in hybrid solar cells. Intrinsic to PIs efforts will be state-of-the-art calculations on multiple conjugated polymer chains and surface passivation agents that will point the way toward enhancing carrier mobility and long-range energy transfer in these materials. Synthesis of new polymer materials to effectively pair with available III-V materials along with optimized nanostructure design will produce a new photovoltaic device fabric.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:
This program has been designed to include several targeted efforts to directly impact society through multidisciplinary, multi campus collaboration. At the core of this project is integrated research and education for students at all levels (K-12, undergraduate, graduate, postdoctorates). Through research involvement, summer workshops and campus exchange, this SOLAR program will generate highly skilled researchers and scientists. Direct outcomes of this project will be shared best practices in K-12 activities, a co-developed graduate course in solar cell development to emphasize organic synthesis/inorganic materials/modeling/analysis, URM student involvement in SOLAR research along with collectively strengthened industrial collaboration. In a more general sense, this research will provide fundamental understanding of the organic and inorganic material interfaces as well as electrical and optical properties of the hybrid solar cells. This study will broadly influence the basic design of future hybrid solar cells and their efficiency limits.

Objective: This project is an integrated approach for design and development of plasmonically-enhanced photodetectors (PEPDs). A unique 3D plasmonic grating self-aligned to a patterned III-V nanopillar array enables enhanced efficiency along with speed appropriate for high-bandwidth transceiver integration on a Si CMOS platform. Expected device performance includes quantum efficiencies > 70 % and modulation rates > 50 GHz.

Intellectual merit: The innovative component is the unique three-dimensional geometry enabled by the vertical nanopillar-based format to circumvent two major limitations of planar plasmonics and nanostructures. This plasmonic grating provides significantly increased optical coupling efficiency resulting from tightly-confined photonic hot-spots compared to the conventional planar configuration. In addition, these hot spots can be physically placed to overlap the carrier absorbing region rather than the lossy metal grating. A holistic

Broader Impacts: This research project offers substantial opportunities for student participation at all levels including high-school, undergraduate and graduate/postdoctoral education and research experience. The project is linked to K-12 projects such as Technology Road Show which takes nano- and clean-energy experiments developed by graduate students into local high school science classes. A related program brings high school teachers on UCLA campus monthly to develop nano-related course work. Under represented minority students participate in these UCLA laboratories through targeted campus support of undergraduate and graduate programs.

Technical Description: This project offers a new epitaxial growth approach for a historically difficult material system, InSb. Indium antimonide has attractive properties in several advanced technology applications such as mid-wavelength infrared sensing, ultra-high-speed electronics and thermoelectrics, but it has reached a plateau in evolution because of a lack of semi-insulating, lattice-matched substrates, and generally complex epitaxial requirements. The approach used in this project involves two innovative components to address the limitations of traditional InSb epitaxy: catalyst-free semiconductor InSb nanopillar epitaxy and multi-scale epitaxial modeling of nanopillar formation. Efforts in growth involve control of three-dimensional growth, dopant incorporation, defect formation, and surface passivation in catalyst-free InSb nanopillars by selective-area epitaxy metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Epitaxial modeling is accomplished using first-principles electronic-structure calculations and atomistic kinetic-Monte-Carlo simulation to correlate to experimental results for a complete understanding of the detailed process of InSb nanopillar self-assembly and inform future experiments.

Non-technical Description: The broader impacts of this project are addressed at several levels, including undergraduate and graduate research experience and community outreach efforts to broaden participation in nanotechnology. Graduate students act as mentors to undergraduate students, providing valuable lab experience and exposure to scientific research, and in turn gain leadership and management skills. The dual-department collaboration (mathematics and electrical engineering) at UCLA will help build stronger relationships between theorists and experimentalists to improve our understanding of nanopillar self-assembly and lead to future projects. The resulting technology of this project will provide the foundation for a new InSb nanomaterial platform where lateral dimensions and site-location are controlled via lithography. These materials will potentially serve as building blocks for mid-wavelength infrared/terahertz optoelectronic devices and ultra-high-speed transistors.

Objective: This proposal brings together an international US-Ireland team of scientists at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), and Queen's University Belfast (QUB) to explore a bottom-up approach to electrically-driven photonic crystal lasers (PCLs) using III-V nano-pillars (NP) grown on Si. This proposal presents a unique set of capabilities to remove deficiencies in NP characterization, making it possible to develop NP lasers to their potential.
Intellectual merit: The NP-PCLs have been engineered to surpass the necessary 10 fJ/bit requirement for inter-chip communication by implementing a high-Q, small current aperture cavity with greater than 90% waveguide coupling efficiency. With this international collaboration a rapid development process is possible, where NP growth and device fabrication is performed at UCLA, pump-probe spectroscopy and emission dynamics is performed at TNI, and atom probe tomography and scanning Raman spectroscopy at QUB. The combined effort of the groups will allow researchers to quickly characterize material quality and gain, and evaluate device designs.
Broader impacts: The cooperative interaction between the US and Ireland allows for a comprehensive project going much further than would be possible for any individual partner. The participating groups will exchange best practices in areas involving interdisciplinary research, student involvement in research, and community participation. These themes are supported by several efforts to incorporate the findings into nano-materials curricula, train graduate, undergraduate and high school students, and form a concerted effort aimed at increasing minority student participation both in the US and Ireland.

Abstract Title: Nanopillar quantum cascade lasers

Non-technical description
This research addresses the challenge of making terahertz semiconductor laser sources that operate at room temperature in the 1-5 THz range. Compact chip-scale sources of terahertz radiation that operate with both reasonably high output power (milliwatts or more) are desired for a range of spectroscopy and imaging applications. Examples include molecular gas sensing in the field of astrophysics and atmospheric science (for example investigation of star formation), imaging in the biological and medical sciences (for example burn and skin tumor imaging), security screening and illicit material detection (for example explosive and drug identification), and non-destructive evaluation (for example corrosion monitoring, delamination and void detection in films and coatings). Existing THz quantum-cascade lasers only operate at cryogenic temperatures which requires extra cooling, larger size, and increased power consumption. The intellectual merit of this proposal lies in the development of a new material system for such lasers "nanopillar quantum dots" that has the potential to increase operating temperatures to room temperature by suppressing unwanted interactions of the electrons with lattice vibrations. The broader impacts are addressed at several levels including undergraduate and graduate research experiences, dissemination of results, technology advancement. Outreach to underrepresented minorities will specifically occur through the development of research projects for a course designed for the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority engineering undergraduates.

Technical Description
The intellectual merit of this proposal resides in two innovative components: the use of nanopillar quantum-dots for intersubband cascade lasers, and catalyst-free selective area semiconductor nanopillar epitaxy of quantum dot heterostructures. Use of quantum dots to create discrete energy levels can dramatically suppress nonradiative scattering of electrons by optical-phonon. Hence, a terahertz laser based discrete states in quantum-dots is expected to solve a fundamental limitation of conventional planar THz quantum-cascade lasers, where non-radiative phonon-assisted relaxation prevents room temperature operation. In this proposed concept, carriers would flow longitudinally down the length of a nanowire ensemble in a cascaded dot-to-dot tunneling regime without coupling with two-dimensional states. Selective-area MOCVD epitaxy without metal catalysts will be used to grow high-aspect ratio InAs/InAsP semiconductor nanopillar arrays using lithographically defined oxide growth masks. Lateral quantum confinement is determined by the mask feature dimension and the presence of an InP passivating shell heterostructure; longitudinal confinement is determined by the axial heterostructure. A collaborative research effort is proposed in three overlapping stages: (i) growth of axial and core/shell heterostructures in InAs/InAsP nanopillars for the formation of coupled-quantum wells and dots, (ii) investigation of the intersubband optical and transport properties, and (iii) investigation of nanopillar cascade designs for electroluminescence, stimulated emission, and quantum cascade laser demonstration.

Abstract:
Non-Technical:
Rochester Institute of Technology and University of California Los Angeles propose to demonstrate a highly mismatched, Sb-based multi-junction solar cell with low defect density and optimal bandgaps, with efficiency over 50%. A novel growth technique known as interfacial misfit array will be used to develop the proposed solar cell devices. These devices would be capable of revolutionary advances in efficiency and perhaps the eventual possibility of transferring the high efficiency III-V technology to a low cost Si substrate. The proposed work will significantly reduce multi-junction solar cell cost and at the same time increase energy conversion efficiency. As well, the proposed material growth methods can have potential impact on areas such as detectors, lasers and memory devices. This work will also support the development of educational activities at multiple levels. Both graduate and undergraduate students will receive training in leading-edge materials engineering and device physics. As well, both principle investigators will be involved in high school student summer mentoring in their laboratories, through a series of lectures and demonstrations involving the relationship between materials and solar energy conversion.
Technical:
The technical aim of this proposal is to gain access to near optimal band gaps for a five junction solar cells by integrating Sb-based materials into the lattice matched InGaP2/GaAs technology using the GaSb interfacial misfit growth technique. Interfacial misfit growth will allow for the lattice-mismatched growth of high quality GaSb on GaAs without the need for a complex and growth intensive step-grade buffer layer. Proposed devices will be comprised of lattice matched (Al)InGaP2, AlGaAs and GaAs as the top three cells, a single interfacial misfit transition and lattice matched 1.1 eV AlGaSb and 0.73 eV GaSb as the bottom two cells. Team members have already demonstrated the interfacial misfit growth of GaSb, which allows them to achieve the lattice-mismatched growth of high quality materials on GaAs, without the need for a complex and growth intensive step-grade buffer layer. In the first year, AlGaSb on GaSb/GaAs templates and InGaP on GaAs substrates along with required tunnel junctions will be developed, with the aim of understanding of optical and electrical properties. In the second and third years, the proposed three junction and five junction solar cells will be developed. All of the steps will be supported by detailed materials characterization as well as physics-based device simulations, to optimize the device design and imporve the predictiave capabilites for Sb-based optoelectronics devices.

The realization of an energy-efficient optical link would have an obvious impact in reducing the energy consumption of data centers, which have been recognized as the most rapidly growing consumers of global energy. One promising approach to solve this issue is to utilize optical rather than electrical signals to send and receive data, which can theoretically lead to much higher speed and lower power consumption. However, difficulties in integrating high-performance optical components onto silicon electronics have been hindering practical application of optical links to chip-scale data communications. Here, we propose an innovative yet feasible optical link architecture consisting of nanoscale transmitters and receivers on a silicon platform. Relating the fascination of optoelectronics to its impact on carbon footprint of data centers will be the foundation of a new education and community involvement platform. Already, the PI participates in several activities to broaden the impact of laboratory research to society including direct relationships with high-schools, on-campus teacher training and helping to organize UCLA students for community involvement. In this case, the PI will (a) incorporate the findings of the proposed research into the UCLA curriculum (b) train and mentor high-school students through summer internships and student exchange programs, (c) form a targeted effort aimed at increasing community knowledge and participation through a high-school technology roadshow and campus visitations to create excitement for innovations in high-speed, energy-efficient optical links.

The research objective of this proposal is to develop nanophotonic optical links based on compact, energy-efficient, and directly integrated lasers and photodetectors as transmitters and receivers on silicon-on-insulator via selective-area epitaxy of III-V nanopillars. The proposed design is fundamentally different from other interconnects with externally bonded lasers, as both transmitters and receivers are monolithically aligned and simultaneously integrated on conventional silicon waveguides. The proposed optical links include electrically-driven nanopillar array lasers and single nanopillar photodetectors, which are engineered to achieve an energy-to-data ratio of <10 fJ/bit. For lasers, a one-dimensional photonic crystal cavity consisting of an array of nanopillars can achieve a high cavity quality factor of 19,000 and waveguide coupling efficiency of 60 % with a footprint of only 7.7 × 0.2 µm2. Purcell enhancement from an ultra-small and high-Q cavity as well as an introduction of three-dimensional diffusion barriers from InGaAs/InP nanopillar heterostructures results in an internal quantum efficiency of 93 %. For detectors, nanopillar photodiodes combined with plasmonic field enhancement achieved by metal nanoslot couplers realize the efficiency far beyond the diffraction limit, resulting in a dark current of 1 pA at 10 V, a bandwidth of 3.4 GHz, and a noise-equivalent power of 1.5 × 10-13 W/Hz1/2. The total power consumption is expected to be 6.3 fJ/bit assuming that these transceivers are linked by 3 cm-long waveguide, which is more than an order of magnitude reduced power consumption compared with the state-of-the-art optical interconnects. The proposed electrically injected nanoresonators and plasmonic light manipulation architectures on silicon not only enable ultra-compact and energy-efficient optical links, but also pave the way toward quantum computing, all-optical switching and memories, single-photon sources, and bio- and chemical sensors.

Non-Technical:
The detection and identification of radioactive isotopes is important for national security and medical imaging. Different isotopes can be distinguished from one another by the energy of gamma rays that they emit during radioactive decay. Efficient, high-resolution detection of gamma rays requires semiconductors with high atomic number (Z). However, these materials have low band-gaps and device based on such materials have high electronic noise. A high electric field in the junction regions of such detectors significantly increases this noise. Precision radiation detectors therefore require significant cooling to reduce electronic noise. The extensive cooling required can be both expensive and unreliable. The investigators propose to achieve gamma-ray detection with high energy resolution in a compact package at room temperature. These detectors will integrate a high-Z low band-gap semiconductor with a low-Z, high band-gap semiconductor. The high-Z material detects gamma rays efficiently and the low-Z material provides low electronic noise in the high field region. This approach exploits the relative benefits of the two materials. The team brings world-renowned expertise in growth of semiconductor materials and fabrication of gamma-ray detectors to bear on the challenges associated with this project. The multidisciplinary research team has an established track record of investing in underrepresented minority graduate students and undergraduate researchers, including women. The proposed work will form the basis for a new program at UCLA in which students take part in cross-disciplinary workshops and laboratory tours. This program aims to bridge the gaps between material science, electrical engineering, and biomedical physics.

Technical:
A fundamental need exists for compact, low-power and high-resolution radiation detectors that can operate near room temperature to provide X-ray to gamma-ray spectroscopy for civil security, radiation surveillance, and radiological imaging applications. By combining world-renowned expertise in epitaxial growth and device fabrication of III-As/Sb structures, sensing devices, and gamma-ray detection, this project plans to achieve direct detection of 60 keV gamma-rays with energy resolution <1% in a compact package. A novel integration of high atomic number (Z) gamma-ray absorbers with low-noise junction regions is proposed to construct an energy-sensitive radiation detector that will exploit the relative benefits of the two materials, to achieve high energy resolution gamma-ray detection with low background noise. The technical approach is designed and organized to achieve the concept of integrating gamma ray detector structures, and will deliver comprehensive experimental investigations of material and device parameters that are of fundamental importance to the field of X-ray and gamma-ray spectroscopy. A team is brought together with a unique combination of experience and knowledge to bear on the challenges associated with this project. The broader impacts arise in part from the multidisciplinary nature of the research team, which has an established track record of investing in underrepresented minority graduate students and undergraduate researchers, including women. The proposed work will form the basis for a new program at UCLA in which students take part in cross-disciplinary workshops and laboratory tours aimed at bridging the gaps between material science, electrical engineering, and biomedical physics.

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.

Nontechnical description: Recently there has been intense interest in next-generation quantum cryptography, a communications method immune to eavesdropping, which enables unbreakable secure data sharing. Quantum cryptography is based on the concept of entangled photons, which are uniquely-coupled particles of light. The important property about entangled photons is the ability to gain knowledge about one photon when measuring the properties of the other photon. This uncommon behaviour is unique to quantum particles such as photons, and is at the core of secure quantum information technologies. To date, however, sources that efficiently produce entangled photons have not been fully developed due to lack of appropriate material systems, precision fabrication, or optical characterization approaches. This project overcomes these challenges through advanced photonic materials design and precise nanoscale synthesis of quantum dots in which entangled photons are created. The project activity also embraces the pedagogical efforts for outreach into the undergraduate, underrepresented, high-school and general community, with emphasis on underrepresented students in science and technology. Consistent cross-training of undergraduate and graduate students and new cross-disciplinary curricula development impact the scientific advances at the interface of mesoscopic materials and quantum sciences.

Technical description: The generation of entangled photons is the cornerstone towards quantum communications, where the collapse of the photon wavefunction upon measurement or detection can be detected through channel monitoring. Much of the entangled photon sources, however, are based on spontaneous parametric downconversion. The spontaneous emission process is not deterministic and some degree of photon statistics - whether in Bell inequality measurements or tomography - is still needed, resulting in long-time counting and slow secure key rates. This project aims to tackle the challenge by demonstrating a deterministic entangled photon source based on a hybrid quantum dot-nanowire heterostructure. The first part of this project aims to demonstrate a hybrid quantum dot-nanowire heterostructure by selective area epitaxy for deterministic entangled photon generation. To achieve near-zero fine-structure splitting, the heterointerfaces and the geometry of quantum dots need to be carefully controlled by appropriate growth techniques. The second part of the research seeks to examine the photon correlation and measure the indistinguishability of the entangled photons generated in the mesoscopic solid-state implementation. The project also integrates the research with a pedagogical educational and outreach plan, including innovative outreach, training and mentoring of undergraduates and graduates, and a new graduate course on physics of quantum communication devices. Some examples of activities include hosting summer high school students to experience laboratory work, employing undergraduate students to fully participate in academic research, and developing a new graduate course: Mesoscopic Materials for Quantum Communications.

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.