Jianshu Cao
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA·Chemistry
Quantum dots are tiny semiconductor crystals, made of only thousands of atoms, that absorb and emit light very efficiently. When many dots are packed close together, they might act together and pass energy or information along in a wave-like way.
- Fields
Chemistry
Physics
Materials Science
- Topics
quantum dots
lead halide perovskites
colloidal nanocrystals
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Oct 2027
What they work on
- Model how coherent and entangled collective states emerge among coupled lead halide perovskite quantum dots, using quantum dynamics theory alongside experiments by partner groups.
- Understand how controlling coupling between quantum dots in ordered superlattices sets how far and how long coherence lasts in space and time.
- Assess how placing perovskite quantum dots in optical cavities, structures that trap light, can sustain coherence and entanglement in a solid-state environment.
More about the research
That kind of transport could change how solar cells and quantum communication work. The catch is decoherence: interactions with the surroundings quickly scramble these fragile shared quantum states. This multi-institution project asks how quantum dots communicate with each other and how that communication can be protected from decoherence.
Why it matters
Materials that move energy and information in a wave-like, coherent way could eventually lead to more efficient solar cells and new quantum communication technologies. Understanding how perovskite quantum dot assemblies keep their shared quantum states could guide the design of future quantum materials built from these particles.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Yosuke Kanai
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC·Chemistry
Discover hybrid metal halide perovskite materials that show room-temperature superfluorescence, a collective burst of coordinated light emission, with colors tunable across the visible spectrum.
Ajay Ram Srimath Kandada
Wake Forest University, NC·Physics·Early-career
Measure how excitons couple to lattice vibrations in 2D metal halide perovskites by recording noise in the amplitude and phase of the optical response after launching coherent phonons, to isolate how random lattice fluctuations drive anharmonicity and polaron formation.
Lea Nienhaus
Rice University, TX·Chemistry·Early-career
Develop new pairs of metal halide perovskites and triplet-accepting organic molecules to test why annihilator molecules such as diphenylanthracene work well in solution but poorly in solid-state upconversion.
The school
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 25 labs on PI Pages, $1.1B a year on research, 692 research doctorates a year.
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