Goldsmith's work focuses on orchestrating the interplay between photons - particles of light - and molecules. By exploring these dynamics, he uncovers insights that could lead to technologies capable of detecting single diseased cells in human tissue or enabling secure, quantum-based information networks. While these applications remain in early development, the field of quantum information science (QIS) is advancing rapidly, promising transformative impacts in the near future.
As a researcher in Q-NEXT, a U.S. Department of Energy National QIS Research Center led by Argonne National Laboratory, Goldsmith contributes to pushing the boundaries of QIS by studying light and matter interactions.
"All of these partners kind of dance together in ways that can really give you a powerful new perspective on what the molecules are doing," Goldsmith said. "We could potentially build black boxes that can be deployed in biotechnology, in pharma, in environmental sensing. New opportunities emerge when you use nanodevices or nanostructures."
Goldsmith is pioneering the development of photonic interfaces, such as microscopic mirrors and lenses, to manipulate light and analyze molecules. One such innovation, the microcavity technique, traps light in a confined space for mere nanoseconds, allowing it to pass through and interact with molecules. This process provides precise information about the molecules' structure and behavior.
Traditional molecular analysis often relies on fluorescent compounds to track chemical reactions. Goldsmith's method eliminates the need for these labels, offering an undistorted view of molecular behavior. "These kinds of photonic devices give us a whole new fully stocked sandbox of new knobs to play with," he said. "You have to get all the molecules' various states right to fully capture the physics of the system."
Understanding these systems is critical for designing molecular qubits, the foundational units of quantum information. Molecular qubits are one of many types, each with distinct advantages. Goldsmith is particularly drawn to their versatility, enabling tailored quantum systems.
"The advantage of molecules is that there's a hundred years of experience of learning how to build them," he explained. "With molecules, you could essentially dial in whatever you want because you have control over the items you put in."
By fine-tuning a molecule's photonic characteristics, researchers can manipulate its qubit lifespan and the nature of its emitted light. This precision opens pathways to creating qubits optimized for diverse uses, such as measuring cell temperatures or transmitting data through quantum networks.
"Say your photonic interfaces increase the rate at which qubits couple to each other. If you want to get a meaningful data transmission rate, you need that photonic interface so you're not hostage to the sloth-like behavior of molecules that will emit whenever they damn please," Goldsmith said. "If you put them in a photonic interface, you can really tell them to hurry up. And this applies to any of the diversity of different types of materials that are being looked at in Q-NEXT."
Collaboration is a cornerstone of Goldsmith's efforts. Alongside Q-NEXT Director David Awschalom at the University of Chicago and Danna Freedman at MIT, he is creating customizable qubits for a range of applications. These efforts reflect a growing emphasis on adaptability within the quantum research community.
Goldsmith's passion for molecular research began at Cornell University, where he first realized the potential of molecules in light-based studies. His fascination deepened through graduate and postdoctoral work at Northwestern University and Stanford University, culminating in his tenure at the University of Wisconsin.
There, he embarked on a "wacky project" - his words - of building photonic devices to study molecules, despite having no prior experience in the field. "It was sort of a high-risk, high-return project," he said. "Thankfully, I had some adventuresome and very, very capable, creative, brilliant, and tenacious early students who helped us all learn together to get into photonics."
Achieving success in this field requires overcoming significant challenges. "Making photonic devices and nanodevices is not easy," Goldsmith noted. "Making them in a way that's scalable or reproducible is not easy. We burn through a lot of them, so we have to make a whole bunch of them. Developing ways of smoothing that process is not glamorous work, but it's important."
The interdisciplinary nature of QIS is crucial to its progress. Physicists, chemists, materials scientists, biologists, engineers, and technicians all contribute to the field's success. "It's so cool how the modern QIS toolkit can control, seemingly at will, the fate of the electronic states of molecules and atoms," Goldsmith said. "And that, for me, is what's really amazing."
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