Quantum Research Opportunities

Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms with honeycomb lattice structure, shows many exotic physics and promising properties for device applications. Stacking different layers together provides a degree of freedom to change electronic properties of graphene, such as electronic band structures. In this project, the successful applicant will work with a team from QED group from School of Phyiscs at UNSW to explore effect of different stacking order on electronic properties of ABA- and ABC- stacked trilayer graphene. The successful applicant will participate in fabrication of van der Waals heterostructure and measuring their electronic properties in an environment of ultracold temperatures and high magnetic fields.

Complex light fields used in optical tweezers require advanced optical manipulation and control of the laser beam. The project focusses on the design, experimental setup and characterization of a beam auto-aligner system on a Raspberry Pi controlled stepper motor. The system will be used for maintaining and manipulating the intensity distribution of the laser beam and precise optical beamshaping by a spatial light modulator patterned optical trap for cold atoms. The work involves developing a machine learning algorithm for optimization of the “walking the beam” technique, used in most quantum optics experiments and control of structured light for advanced optical manipulation. The algorithm can be used to optimize the laser power into optical fibers, better modulation of the amplitude and phase of light and for controlling of the overlapping beams in a pump-probe experimental setup. The precise control of the laser beam intensity distribution enables the fine tuning of configurable potential wells for future optimized optical trapping experiments.

In this project you will work at the frontiers of superconducting qubit development, exploring the relatively new field of ‘protected’ superconducting qubits to design, build and characterise novel qubits. Superconducting circuits are a mature technology used extensively in academic and industrial efforts to build quantum processors and simulators. In traditional superconducting qubits, there is a fundamental trade-off between minimising different types of errors – one type of error is minimised at the expense of increasing another. Fortunately, the versatility of superconducting circuits gives us incredible flexibility to design and engineer new, multi-mode qubits that are intrinsically robust against multiple types of error – these qubits are known as ‘protected’ qubits.

This project aims to apply commercial electronic device simulation software to design and model high-performance kinetic inductance traveling wave amplifiers. These powerful simulations take into consideration most non-idealities and are expected to produce results that closely match experimental data.

The project will provide opportunities to learn the design and simulation of superconducting circuits and the experimental characterization of devices at cryogenic temperatures. The student will learn about the physics and engineering of traveling wave amplifiers and be exposed to industry-leading microwave simulation software tools.

Plasma chemistry involves the dissociation of chemical precursors using reactive plasmas rather than heat (as in the more conventional techniques of chemical vapour deposition and molecular beam epitaxy). This project will focus on developing new precursor chemistries and techniques for fabrication and functionalization of graphene, MoS2, and other two-dimensional materials used in quantum and electronic devices.