Quantum Science and Engineering at Cornell

Hidden structural states discovered in inorganic nanoclusters

Cornell researchers have uncovered hidden – and perplexing – states in a nanomaterial as it changes its atomic structure, a discovery that could advance materials with tailored properties for renewable energy and quantum computing, among other applications.

The research, published in print Oct. 8 in the journal ACS Nano, is the first to reveal intermediate states in cadmium sulfide nanoparticles as they isomerize, changing from one atomic form to another while keeping their chemical composition.

“Think of it as a Rubik’s Cube – we only knew about the final organized state, but now we know there are multiple middle arrangements before that final end state,” said Richard D. Robinson, associate professor of materials science and engineering and senior author of the study.

Read the full story in the Cornell Chronicle.

Cornell engineers key to multiple federal microelectronics projects

Cornell Engineering-led projects designed to accelerate research into quantum and communications leap-ahead technologies – innovations that enable significant advances over current systems – received significant support from the U.S. Department of Defense, officials with the Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub (NORDTECH) recently announced.

NORDTECH is a regional consortium of government labs, defense companies, academic institutions, and technology manufacturing organizations in New York state and one of eight hubs composing the U.S. Microelectronics Commons program. Of the four federal awards totaling more than $30 million that NORDTECH announced on Sept. 18, three involve critical participation from Cornell Engineering faculty.

Read the full story in the Cornell Chronicle.

Sound drives ‘quantum jumps’ between electron orbits

Cornell researchers have demonstrated that acoustic sound waves can be used to control the motion of an electron as it orbits a lattice defect in a diamond, a technique that can potentially improve the sensitivity of quantum sensors and be used in other quantum devices.

Advances in quantum information technology require finding new ways to control electrons and other microscopic particles. In “Coherent Acoustic Control of Defect Orbital States in the Strong-Driving Limit,” Gregory Fuchs, professor of applied and engineering physics, and his postdoctoral associate, Brendan McCullian, collaborated with Erich Mueller, professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, and his doctoral student, Vaibhav Sharma, to engineer a setting where sound waves can drive ‘quantum jumps’ between electron orbits. The work was published Aug. 19 in the journal PRX Quantum.

Read the full story in the Cornell Chronicle.