SoylentNews

slon [soylentnews.org] writes:

I got this using a bot.

https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/ucd-physicist-stacking-quantum-materials-lego-women-invent [siliconrepublic.com]

UCD’s Dr Nuala Caffrey discusses her current work in quantum, the problems she aims to solve and how fundamental research can be turned into practical technologies.

“My interest started with a love of solving maths problems in school and the satisfaction of getting the right answer,” said Dr Nuala Caffrey, an assistant professor for the School of Physics at University College Dublin (UCD). 

Hailing from a rural agricultural background, a career in physics research was, initially, never on her radar, she just knew how much she enjoyed studying mathematics. When it came time to fill out the CAO form, theoretical physics was the only degree option she put down.

Caffrey told SiliconRepublic.com, “I was drawn to the elegance of theoretical physics, for example, seeing Maxwell’s equations in their compact four-vector form, which describe everything from light to electronics.”

These are the fundamental equations associated with electrodynamics and can be used to calculate electrical and magnetic effects. 

She added, “A summer undergraduate research project in Stefano Sanvito’s group introduced me to materials-based condensed matter physics, which I hadn’t known existed and led to a PhD in that group in computational spintronics. 

“That project showed me that the properties a material can have, from magnetism and superconductivity to superhardness and transparency, are not arbitrary but can be explained by the arrangement of its electrons.”

For Caffrey, computational materials modelling offered the best of both worlds, in which she could build models of varying complexity and use them to determine or predict how a real material might behave. 

She said, “It lets me see the mechanism that is pulling the levers. Once you understand that, you can start to pull the levers yourself and design materials with the properties you want.”

Currently, Caffrey’s focus is on the computational design of quantum materials [siliconrepublic.com], primarily materials with the potential to be used in the creation of future quantum technologies, or materials with properties that can only be explained by quantum physics.

She said, “Much of my work comes back to spin, a quantum property of electrons that is a natural building block for quantum information and to finding ways of controlling it. In a recently funded Research Ireland project called Quantum Lego, we’re designing materials just one atom or molecule thick that can be stacked like Lego plates, so that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. 

“More specifically, we place flat networks of metal atoms and organic molecules on top of other layers that can be magnetised or electrically switched, with the aim of controlling the spin of the network on demand. In a similar vein, I study spin crossover crystals, made of molecules that can flip between two magnetic states.” 

She noted, through the newly established Rinn Quantum centre [siliconrepublic.com], she is beginning to approach research from another direction, “using today’s early quantum computers to simulate quantum materials themselves”.

Here, the work is about “finding the right materials for the job”, but “right can mean many different things”. 

Areas of importance include making qubits less fragile, easier to control, or able to operate at higher temperatures. Similarly more attention needs to be paid to quantum computer design ideas, especially as the individual material problems have yet to be resolved. 

Caffrey said, “One problem I focus on is that most atom-thin magnets lose their magnetism unless they are kept very cold and there are few ways of changing that. 

“Building these magnets from metal atoms and organic molecules gives us far more control; by swapping the ingredients, we can tune their properties and by choosing the layer they sit on, we can switch them.”

But where is it all leading?

As a computational theorist, Caffrey explained that she is positioned ahead of a pipeline that goes from fundamental research to practical application. This is a process however, that can take decades before any new material travels from first prediction to an actualised product. 

She said, “Any material that behaves perfectly in my simulations still has to be made, characterised and tested in a laboratory, where things often look much messier and that is even before reproducibility, scalability, cost and compatibility with current manufacturing processes are considered. 

“Working alongside my experimental colleagues, I aim to keep the gap between my simulations and the real-world material as small as possible, for example by modelling air stability, or the defects and impurities that every real material contains.

“As in many fields, academia and industry [siliconrepublic.com] in the quantum space speak different languages and have different incentives, yet strong financial and environmental drivers are bringing them closer together.” 

Ireland, she finds, though having entered the quantum race a little later than its European counterparts, is gaining momentum. Caffrey explained that the country’s experts are playing to their strengths by building a strong research base, developing deep expertise in semiconductors and by enticing many of the world’s largest tech companies to the doorstep. 

She said, “The national strategy and recent investment, though modest by comparison, have given the community real focus. Irish companies [siliconrepublic.com] like Equal1 are attracting significant international investment and international quantum companies are increasingly choosing to set up here. 

“As a small country, we can’t do everything, but we can certainly play a leading role in specific areas.”

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief [eepurl.com], Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Original Submission