Author: Jeremy Tull     Majors: Physics; Electrical Engineering 

Headshot of Jeremy Tull

My name is Jeremy Tull, and I’m an Electrical Engineering and Physics major working under Dr. Hugh Churchill in the Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering. My research is on ambipolar quantum dot fabrication and measurements. I plan to attend graduate school and obtain a master’s in either Electrical or Mechanical Engineering. For the fall semester of 2020, our research efforts focused on the design of valley-spin quantum bits (qubits) using ambipolar quantum dots; to accomplish this, we stack atomically thin crystals and metals on a silicon substrate. The goal of our research is to help advance quantum computing technology by using this gate design for information processing.
Specifically, my focus is on using a bilayer transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) in the device.

I began research with Dr. Churchill after an interview with him in the summer of 2018, when I had some questions about the Microelectronics and Photonics program. I determined that it was a good fit for me and Dr. Churchill felt I was a good fit for his lab. I began the research that fall semester. Dr. Churchill needed another undergraduate for his TMD quantum dot group, so my research topic naturally developed from that. Because of the limited lab activity for undergraduate students in the spring and summer, I’ve shifted the focus of my honors thesis from device fabrication to measurement techniques. Specifically, I’ll be using two-photon absorption autocorrelation to measure single photon emissions in our quantum dots. This will be done using an appropriately-named two-photon absorption autocorrelator, which is a type of interferometer. Because the autocorrelator won’t be arriving until mid-January, I’ve spent the majority of my time this semester researching autocorrelator measurements, their applications, and preparing to write my thesis. I’ve also been reading about our autocorrelator to prepare for its arrival.

This semester has taught me that there’s much more to engineering research than hands-on lab work. I’ve had to do more reading than anything else, and I have managed to learn much more than anticipated. The most significant challenge has most certainly been preparing to conduct measurements without the equipment being here. It really limits the amount of work I can do, while still making the necessary progress in my research. To overcome this, I’ve tried to make sure I’ve researched everything that I need to know. My research mentor, Dr. Churchill, has been an invaluable resource in understanding my research (as best I can) and ensuring I remain on task. I’ll also be depending on some of our lab group’s graduate students to have devices ready for measurement. My next steps are more hands-on, as I will be working with the autocorrelator when it arrives; there are many measurements that need to be taken and each will need to be thoroughly analyzed. These measurements are very important in determining the validity of our devices, as well as their efficiency. Regarding my honors requirements, I should have enough results by the end of March that I can complete my thesis and successfully defend in April, as I intend to graduate with honors in May.