Materials Design through Quantum Mechanical Coupling

Blake Simpkins US Naval Research Laboratory

Sensing processes are simply a material’s response to some s1mulus. There are many conven1onal ways to tailor a material’s transduc1on response including nanostructuring to enhance surface effects, chemical func1onaliza1on for specificity, op1cal mode engineering to enhance op1cal cross-sec1on and/or tune frequency response, or system design to incorporate mul1-func1onality. In this program, we are interested in basic research aimed at dras1c or fundamental altera1ons of a material’s response to s1muli. For instance, introducing quantum mechanical coupling (interac1on) in material design is expected to improve material transduc1on and related sensing func1onality through increased sensi1vity and improved power efficiency. U1liza1on of quantum-mechanical interac1ons as a mode of materials design can take various forms. Coupling of material excita1ons (e.g., excitons, phonons, vibra1ons) to op1cal cavity modes has yielded exciton control, polariton forma1on and condensa1on, and opto-mechanical sensors opera1ng in the quantum squeezed regime. Tailored design of molecular excitonic and spin transi1ons has advanced the interroga1on of protein structure and func1on, and the examina1on of molecular-cavity optomechanical systems allows one to drive nonlinear popula1on of vibra1onal excita1ons, manipulate molecular dephasing, and influence chemical behavior.