News
QNN Newsletter – 2023 Wrap Up
QNN Newsletter
Dear QNN Group Members, Alums and Affiliates,
We are excited to share our group newsletter for the last quarter of 2023 with you all. Please read on for highlights of the latest research and goings on within the QNN group.
The last term saw a lot of change. We have welcomed four new group members, and saw the departure of three others. Also, the wider QNN community has grown by two with Marco Colangelo and Stewart Koppell both becoming new fathers. Marco welcomed baby Lorenzo, and Stewart baby Cleo. We are wishing the new parents well!
Best regards,
Karl and Donnie
Comings and Goings
This past semester, we’ve welcomed the following new group members:
- Felix Ritzkowksi, Postdoc
- Valentin Karam, no longer an exchange student, officially a Research Support Associate
- Simon Opsahl, UROP
- Steven Khandeh, UROP
The following members have now left and become alumni group members:
- Marco Zagarella, visiting student returning to Italy
- Stewart Koppell, Post-doc, now at Johns Hopkins in Austin, Texas
- Ashley Lou, UROP
Thesis Presentation
Francesca Incalza, “Effects of helium-ion exposure on superconducting nanowires single photon detectors,” Virtual, Jun. 30, 2023. Presentation Link.
Publications (6/1/23 – 12/31/23)
[1]
L. C. Blackburn, E. Golden, A. Wynn, A. Wagner, and N. Gershenfeld, “Design and Simulation of Phase Synchronizer for Adiabatic Quantum Flux Parametron Circuits,” IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 1–5, Aug. 2023, doi: 10.1109/TASC.2023.3243186.
[2]
J. S. Luskin et al., “Large active-area superconducting microwire detector array with single-photon sensitivity in the near-infrared,” Applied Physics Letters, vol. 122, no. 24, p. 243506, Jun. 2023, doi: 10.1063/5.0150282.
[3]
J. W. Simonaitis and P. D. Keathley, “Twin experiments reveal twin electron dynamics,” Nat. Phys., pp. 1–2, Jun. 2023, doi: 10.1038/s41567-023-02066-8.
Preprints (6/1/23 – 12/31/23)
[1]
I. Charaev et al., “Single-photon detection using large-scale high-temperature MgB$_2$ sensors at 20 K.” arXiv, Aug. 29, 2023. Accessed: Nov. 06, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.15228
[2]
A. Chou et al., “Quantum Sensors for High Energy Physics.” arXiv, Nov. 03, 2023. Accessed: Nov. 13, 2023. [Online]. Available: http://arxiv.org/abs/2311.01930
[3]
C. Kim et al., “Wafer-Scale MgB2 Superconducting Devices.” arXiv, Dec. 2023. doi: 10.48550/ARXIV.2305.15190.
[4]
S. Lee et al., “First Detection of 120 GeV Protons with Superconducting Nanowire Detectors.” arXiv, Dec. 20, 2023. Accessed: Jan. 26, 2024. [Online]. Available: http://arxiv.org/abs/2312.13405
[5]
F. Ritzkowsky et al., “Large Area Optical Frequency Detectors for Single-Shot Phase Readout.” arXiv, Jun. 02, 2023. doi: 10.48550/arXiv.2306.01621.
[6]
H. K. Warner et al., “Coherent control of a superconducting qubit using light.” arXiv, Oct. 24, 2023. doi: 10.48550/arXiv.2310.16155.
[7]
M. Yeung, L.-T. Chou, M. Turchetti, S.-H. Chia, K. K. Berggren, and P. D. Keathley, “Lightwave Electronic Harmonic Frequency Mixing.” arXiv, Jul. 27, 2023. doi: 10.48550/arXiv.2307.15145.
Talks (6/1/23 – 12/31/23)
EIPBN 2023
J. Simonaitis, “A Low-Energy Counting Electron Spectrometer Integrated into a Scanning Electron Microscope,” presented at the EIPBN 2023, San Francisco, CA, Jun. 01, 2023.
J. Simonaitis, “Apparatus for studying low energy electron-photon interactions inside a Scanning Electron Microscope,” presented at the EIPBN 2023, San Francisco, CA, Jun. 01, 2023.
IVNC2023
A. R. Bechhofer, S. Nirantar, L. Daniel, K. K. Berggren, and P. D. Keathley, “Circuit Model for Nanoscale Optical Frequency Electronics,” presented at the IVNC2023, Cambridge, MA, Jul. 10, 2023.
J. Simonaitis, “Electron-Photon Interaction is a Scanning Electron Microscope,” presented at the IVNC 2023, Cambridge, MA, Jul. 11, 2023.
EUCAS 2023
Emma Batson, “Electrical Characterization of Micron-Wide Magnesium Diboride Wires for SuSPDs,” presented at the EUCAS 2023, Bologna, Italy, Sep. 04, 2023.
Emma Batson, “Superconducting nanowire devices in novel materials: High critical temperatures and transparent superconductors,” presented at the HTSHFF 2023, Giardini Naxos, Italy, Sep. 13, 2023.
PCTS
K. K. Berggren, “Superconducting-Nanowires for High-Energy Physics and Fundamental Science Applications,” presented at the PCTS: Quantum Probes of Wave-like and Sub-GeV Dark Matter, from Photonics to Quantum Sensing, Princeton, NJ, Oct. 27, 2023.
Prof. Berggren South Korea Engagements
K. K. Berggren, “Superconducting Nanostrip Detectors: From Quantum Communications to Dark-Matter Search,” presented at the LTD20, Daejeon, South Korea, Jul. 25, 2023.
K. K. Berggren, “Why Should Everyone Care About Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors?,” Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), Ulsan, South Korea, Jul. 28, 2023.
K. K. Berggren, “Detecting Dark Matter with Superconducting Nanowires,” Institute for Basic Sciences, Daejeon, South Korea, Jul. 31, 2023.
K. K. Berggren, “Superconducting Nanostrip Single-Photon Detectors for Quantum-Information,” KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea, Jul. 31, 2023.
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First QNN High School Interns Hosted through NSF program
The QNN group hosted our first summer High School interns this year due to a grant from the National Science Foundation. By expanding the number of high schoolers with direct experience with ongoing research programs, the NSF hopes to increase the potential pool of future scientists. After working with the local Somerville and Medford High Schools, two students were accepted based on their applications to this paid month-long program.
Marjia Masrura Zasra and Caleb Chang of Medford High School worked with graduate student John Simonaitis and Group leader Dr. Donnie Keathley to create methods and models of observing the levels of liquid nitrogen remaining in the canisters. On the final day of the internship they jointly presented their findings on sound-based liquid sensing. They concluded on a best preliminary design and what the next steps could be. We’re proud of these interns for rising to the challenge of designing and implementing these experiments and fielding questions regarding their work!
High School Interns Marjia and Caleb with their data, John, Donnie, and Joseph Alongi after their presentation to the QNN group
This program will be offered again in Summer 2024 and information on the program timeline and applications will be distributed through Somerville and Medford High School.
This paid internship was supported by National Science Foundation grant “NSF Quantum Coherent Interactions” under contract No. 2110535
Matthew Yeung awarded the Mathworks Fellowship
Matthew Yeung is a PhD candidate whose research explores interactions between light and nanostructures for both fundamental research and the development of novel optoelectronic technologies. The focus of his current work, which will be supported by this MathWorks Fellowship, is the development of nanostructured devices that can interact with and measure light fields with sub-femtosecond resolution. These devices enable a critical new tool in visible to near-infrared optical metrology: a sampling oscilloscope for light waves, which could offer a fresh time-domain perspective on how light interacts with materials. Matthew’s work has large number of potential applications, including the creation of more efficient solar cells, understanding the fundamental energy transfer mechanisms that enable photosynthesis, and characterizing materials with unprecedented sensitivity. MATLAB has been vital in Matthew’s device design, experiment development, and instrumentation interfacing, and he looks forward to sharing the resulting tools with the MathWorks community. His work has the potential to help usher in revolutionary advances in light-based technologies.
New Publication: “Twin experiments reveal twin electron dynamics”
Dr. Donnie Keathley and John Simonaitis reviewed a double-submission of papers on using coulombic effects for electron heralding for Nature Physics, and were invited to write a News and Views article for the general public. The complete article can be found here.
Abstract:
Two studies of electrons generated from laser-triggered emitters have found highly predictable electron–electron energy correlations. These studies, at vastly different energy scales, may lead to heralded electron sources, enabling quantum free-electron optics and low-noise, low-damage electron beam lithography and microscopy.
A schematic of the two experiments, showing the underlying mechanism and detection schemes.
Thesis Defense Recording – Dr. Marco Colengelo: Superconducting Nanowire Technology For Microwave and Photonics Applications
Now-Dr. Marco Colangelo’s thesis defense is now available to view online. The title is “Superconducting Nanowire Technology For Microwave and Photonics Applications.” Congratulations for Dr. Colangelo for his successful PhD defense!
Abstract:
Quantum computing and quantum communication are innovative technologies that promise to revolutionize several aspects of our societal landscape. However, early cutting-edge experiments are rapidly approaching significant scalability roadblocks. As the qubit count increases, superconducting quantum processors require an increasing number of control and readout electronic devices, which are incompatible at scale with the performance of dilution refrigerators. Photonic-based platforms struggle with integration issues due to operational, design, and heterogeneous material compatibility. In this talk, I will demonstrate that superconducting nanowires have the potential to drive a major leap in the scalability of these and other architectures. I will show that the exotic microwave properties of superconducting nanowires enable cryogenic devices at microwave frequencies with an ultra-compact footprint. I will introduce microwave directional couplers and resonators featuring a footprint reduction of up to 200 times, making them suitable for on-chip integration with superconducting quantum processors and any application needing cryogenic microwave signal processing. Furthermore, I will show that engineering the nanowire properties can overcome the metrics trade-offs of single-photon detectors. I will demonstrate an all-in-one nanowire detector with record performances, imaging capabilities, and photon-number resolution capabilities, all in the same design. This device can be used to scale experiments needing many high-performance detectors. Finally, I will demonstrate single-photon detectors integrated on lithium-niobate-on-insulator with state-of-the-art performance. I will also introduce integrated array technology on silicon-on-insulator. This nanowire technology can be heterogeneously integrated with current quantum photonic platforms on-chip, removing the need for outcoupling to fiber-coupled detectors. Superconducting nanowires have the potential to become a comprehensive solution for scaling classical and quantum architectures.
Committee: Prof Karl Berggren (Thesis Supervisor), Prof. Dirk Englund, and Prof. Daniel Santavicca
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afFOGF2CMAA[/embedyt]