TT1: PLASMA-AIDED SYNTHESIS OF NOVEL MATERIALS

Background: High-entropy materials containing a mixture of five or more elemental species represent a paradigm shift in materials science where a variety of oxides, carbides, and borides can be synthesized by using LTP with superior physical and mechanical properties than are accessible from the constituent materials. Similarly, combining different materials in heterostructures offers new opportunities in quantum information systems.

Integration with Foundational Research: These advances are closely related to and will be aided by plasma surface interaction simulations (FR1.4) and controlling LTPs via advanced sources and diagnostics (FR2.4).

Proposed Research: The computational study of high-entropy materials is challenging because of the extremely large phase space of possible systems that can be formed from the elemental combinations. Similarly, predicting and synthesizing multi-elemental compound superconducting materials has also faced difficult theoretical and experimental obstacles. This research capitalizes on novel computational and plasma synthesis approaches to advance both materials areas.

Impacts: TT1 will build novel material deposition systems to synthesize new materials with unique properties related to AESSTR (4.1) technology priorities. ML enabled discovery of high-entropy materials and quantum heterostructures will yield next-generation materials for extreme conditions and superconductors with enhanced critical temperatures and potential for energy and quantum information technologies, impacting two of NSF’s 10 Big Ideas, viz., “Harnessing the Data Revolution” and “Quantum Leap.” ML approaches harnessed to LTP (Fig. 2) will help design next-generation plasma synthesized high-entropy materials and interface engineering in quantum materials.