Scientists stretch 'white graphene' to adjust the light energy level

For a long time, the ability to regulate the energy of quantum light was expected to be one of the core components for the development of quantum information networks - where photons, the smallest unit of light am, used to transfer information between remote transmitting stations. However, quantum communication technology is greatly limited by technical difficulties, particularly in controlling the energy level of quantum light sources.

Scientists from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the Australian National University (ANU), led by Dr. Tran Trong Toan, graduate student Mendelson Noah and other colleagues have found a breakthrough solution. solve the problem: by taking advantage of the extremely high tensile strength of the hexagonal Boron Nitride two-dimensional material , also known as "White Graphene" due to its similar structure to graphene.

Their work has set a world record for the adjustment of the energy of quantum light emitted from two-dimensional materials, nearly 10 times larger than the most recent research. Scientific research led by Vietnamese-origin PhDs promises to help other research groups accelerate the research and design of quantum information networks as well as other quantum technologies. The article about the new success was published in Advanced Materials magazine, one of the world's leading scientific journals in materials science and material technology.

An illustration that simulates the energy adjustment of quantum light when the two-dimensional material is stretched. (Graphic: Dr. Tran Trong Toan, lecturer at Sydney University of Technology (UTS) and author of the review of this research).

Using a special method of synthesis at the UTS laboratory, the researchers created Hexagonal Nitride two-dimensional materials that contain extremely strong and durable quantum light sources at room temperature. They then used specialized devices to stretch the lattice of this material, with the aim of distorting light sources and thereby adjusting the energy of the quantum light emitted from them. The energy levels of light are expressed by the different colors of light emitted from the quantum light source.

" It's like stretching an elastic band with your hands. Depending on your pull, the light from that elastic turns from orange to red or vice versa, similar to the LED on a pine tree. Christmas, constantly changing from orange to red and vice versa. However, it is all about nanometer size , "said Mendelson Noah, a PhD student at UTS and the lead author of the study.

"It is interesting to see the phenomenon of light discoloration at the quantum level in the laboratory, not only from a purely research perspective, but also opening a lot of potential applications in the field of science." and quantum engineering , "he added.

NCS. Mendelson Noah and TS. Trần Trọng Toàn, Department of Physics, Sydney University of Technology (UTS), Australia.

Hexagonal Nitride Boron is unlike other materials used in similar applications. Materials such as Diamond, Silicon Carbide, or Gallium Nitride are very hard, brittle and inelastic. Hexon nitride, on the other hand, is a very special material, like Graphene, that can be stretched to several percent of its original length without breaking.

" We have been and are still amazed by the superior physical properties of this material, whether mechanical, electrical or optical. These properties can not only turn special physics experiments into reality. real but could lead to a number of practical applications in the near future , "GS. Aharonovich Igor, co-author of the study, said.

Right from the first observations of this special phenomenon, TS. Tran Trong Toan, who led the UTS experiment, realized his team may have reached a very special finding. These experimental physicists quickly contacted one of the world's leading theoretical physicists, PhD. Doherty Marcus (from ANU), to decipher the mechanism behind the breakthrough discovery. With the effective combination of the two laboratories, the researchers achieved great success, the results of their experiments are fully explained by a solid theoretical model.

Currently, the research team is focusing on further studies based on the new scientific report. One of these projects is an experiment to verify the feasibility of quantum co-ordination from two light sources of different initial energy in the hexagonal Boron Nitride material to form a " quantum optical bit" - Basic components of future quantum information network.

" We think our research could lead to the fundamental physics experiments that underpin the future development of quantum Internet systems ."

The research report has been posted on phys.org.

TS Tran Trong Toan is currently a lecturer at Sydney University of Technology, Australia (UTS). His research interests focus on the field of Quantum Optics, Nano Optics, Solid Physics and Materials Science. He holds a bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Ho Chi Minh City University of Science (Vietnam, 2008), a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering, National University of Singapore (Singapore, 2011), and a Ph.D. in Materials Ly, University of Technology Sydney, (Australia, 2018).

TS Tran Trong Toan won the Best dissertation award of the University of Technology Sydney, Australia (2018) for his groundbreaking research work on quantum light sources from hexagonal lattice Boron Nitride materials. He was also awarded research funding for Outstanding Young Lecturers at UTS in 2018. His research is published in the world's leading journals in the field of Quantum Optics, Quantum Physics and Materials Science. , for example: Nature Nanotechnology, Science Advances, Nature Communications, Advanced Materials, Nano Letters, ACS Nano, Physical Review Applied .

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