| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/C009290/1 |
| Title: |
A cryogenic scanning confocal microscope for optical spectroscopy of quantum dots in high magnetic fields of arbitrary orientation |
| Principal Investigator: |
Phillips, Professor RT |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Physics |
| Organisation: |
University of Cambridge |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 October 2005 |
Ends: |
31 March 2009 |
Value (£): |
558,925
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Instrumentation Eng. & Dev. |
Materials Characterisation |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The aim of this project is to make a form of microscope / a confocal system - which can operate at very low temperature (down to below 2 degrees Kelvin). This has been done before, but the special design of the new instrument will allow it to be used in high magnetic fields up to 10 Tesla, at any angle with respect to the field - which has never been done before. To meet the required performance the instrument has to be able to move the sample in the microscope very accurately at low temperature using special piezo actuators. One of the key tests of the instrument will relate to the positional stability which can be achieved while changing the attitude of the confocal head at low temperature.The purpose of the new instrument is to enable the study of the quantum states of very small regions of semiconductor known as quantum dots which can, in some ways, be regarded as artificial atoms . These have many special properties which can only be fully explored by exposing them to high magnetic fields at low temperatures, but without microscopy they cannot be isolated from one another. The unique point of this microscope and its associated spectroscopy will be that such atoms can be followed as they are tilted in a magnetic field / which gives very detailed information about the quantum states in the quantum dots. In addition to studying these atoms the project will also study artificial molecules made in a similar way; these are expected to show very complex behaviour when they are tilted in a magnetic field. All these features promise to make the results obtainable with the new instrument extremely exciting, with the potential to test several ideas which may have a bearing on future quantum communication and computation.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.cam.ac.uk |