Engineering quantum materials in silicon, atom by atom

Abstract:

Although scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) first gave us a real-space atomic-scale image of the silicon surface over 30 years ago, the ability to make electrically useful devices atom-by-atom has just recently advanced to the point where it can start being used as a tool to address basic science questions and engineering challenges. We have recently directed our ability to make atomically precise donor structures in silicon to fabricating tunable arrays that hold promise for serving as small-scale analog quantum simulations of quantum material systems. This would establish an engineered approach to quantum materials, complementary to trapped atoms and ions. This talk will focus both on the promise of realizing quantum materials in tunable donor arrays, and on our technical progress towards that goal.