PhD position in “Long-distance spin-photon entanglement”
University of Geneva
The institution:
The Department of Applied Physics at the University of Geneva in Switzerland is a world-class research institution in the growing field of Quantum Science and Technology (unige.ch/gap/qic/). We have many active collaborations with the national Swiss and international research community, including three projects within the European Quantum Flagship, and we are locally home to a network of internationally recognized research groups working on quantum repeaters, quantum key distribution, quantum non-locality and entanglement, quantum thermodynamics, and quantum biophotonics.
The research lab:
The Quantum Repeater and Memories (qram) group headed by Mikael Afzelius is a leading laboratory in quantum repeater research, with an excellence in developing solid-state spin-photon interfaces at the quantum level. Our motivation is to perform intellectually stimulating and challenging experimental research, with potential future applications.
Project description:
The PhD candidate will work on developing our quantum repeater
node based on europium doped Y2SiO5 crystals. The goal is to demonstrate entanglement between europium spins and a telecom photon after a propagation of the photon of 10s of km, with a long quantum memory lifetime and high efficiency. To this aim the student will work on coherent spin control techniques, cavity-enhancement of the memory efficiency, and on techniques to witness remote so-called single-photon entanglement.
Requirements:
We seek highly motivated and skilled candidates with a solid background in coherent light-matter interactions/spectroscopy and quantum optics. Candidates should hold the equivalence of a European Masters diploma in Physics. A PhD degree takes 3-4 years to obtain at the University of Geneva.
How to apply:
Applications should be submitted by email here. A complete application should include a short motivation letter, a CV, a list of Bachelor and Masters courses (with grades), and at least two recommendation letters or the names of at least two potential referees and their relationship to the candidate.
Contacts: Dr. Mikael Afzelius, mikael.afzelius@unige.ch