Postgraduate research opportunities Quantum Chips: integrating micron-scale optoelectronic components for scaling of quantum technologies on-chip
ApplyKey facts
- Opens: Thursday 14 November 2024
- Deadline: Friday 28 February 2025
- Number of places: 1
- Duration: 42 months
- Funding: Home fee, Stipend
Overview
Scaling quantum systems requires a move from bulk components and bench-top experiments to on-chip circuit architectures. The range of functions required to deliver these chipscale systems means that they cannot be manufactured on a single material platform. In this project the student will develop photonic circuit technologies operating at visible wavelengths and with integrated membrane devices for function-on-demand, realised using nanoscale accurate heterogeneous integration methods.Eligibility
To enter our PhD programme applicants require an upper-second or first-class BSc Honours degree, or a Masters qualification of equal or higher standard, in Physics, Engineering or a related discipline.
Full funding, covering fees and stipend, is available for applicants who are UK Nationals (meeting residency requirements) or have settled status (meeting residency requirements), pre-settled status or otherwise have indefinite leave to remain or enter.

Project Details
The transmission and processing of information in many quantum computing, communications and sensing systems rely on the use of photons. Most state-of-the-art systems demonstrations make use of free-space beam paths and bulk optics components to transport photons between nodes and employ efficient material nonlinearities in crystals to create interactions between them. These systems have been crucial in the demonstration of proof-of-concept experiments, but are not well suited to scaling beyond a few photon-photon path interactions, limited by the size of the components and complexity of their arrangement.
By moving to an on-chip environment, the mechanical stability, complexity and yield of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) enables the scaling of these systems by orders of magnitude. Nevertheless, there are a number of open challenges that need to be overcome to meet the strict performance requirements of quantum systems in terms of loss, efficiency and operating wavelength range. In particular, many of the functions required on chip, including non-linear photon interactions or high-efficiency photon generation and detection, require different materials and have been developed at different wavelengths (e.g. high efficiency silicon detectors in the visible and low-loss circuitry and non-linear optics in the IR spectral range).
In this project the student will develop a new platform for non-linear photonics on-chip at UV to visible wavelengths. PIC platforms wide-bandgap materials will be fabricated in-house in the Technology and Innovation Centre cleanroom to produce PICs with low-loss and high-channel count. Integration of silicon single photon detectors and non-linear optical resonators with these PICs will be achieved using a custom, nanometre scale accurate, transfer print system developed by our group. Through the heterogeneous integration of multiple, micron scale components on-chip, the student will realise photon transmission and processing circuits in mm2 areas that can be deployed in communications, computing and sensing applications. By advancing this technology into the UV and visible range of the spectrum, the project will provide much needed hardware to interface scalable optics with solid state quantum emitters/memories on-chip, or for scalable beam projection systems for multi-site atom/ion trapping/addressing applications.
The student will develop skills in numerical simulation of guided-wave photonics including Finite Difference Time Domain and Eigenmode modelling, to design efficient optical resonators, power-couplers and material-to-material transitions. The student will be trained in the University Cleanroom labs to translate these designs into photonic chips using state-of-the-art laser lithography and reactive ion etching tools. They will develop world leading skills in transfer printing integration using the unique toolset at Strathclyde developed by our group, enabling direct pick-and-place of micron-sized optical components onto PICs. Finally, measurement of the chips will be carried out optical labs hosting advanced laser sources, single-photon detection systems and high-speed metrology equipment.
This project is co-funded by Fraunhofer UK, a Research and Technology Organisation which is part of the global Fraunhofer Gesselschaft and based on-campus at the University of Strathclyde. The student will have access to Fraunhofer labs and supervision, and will be part of a wider cohort of colleagues in applied quantum technologies through the Fraunhofer centre.
In addition to the Applied Quantum Technologies CDT training programme, the student will be part of a cohort of researchers at the Institute of Photonics and will be supported in the development of professional skills in research communication, project planning and will have access to regular technical seminars, journal clubs and group social activities.
Institute of Photonics
The Institute of Photonics (IoP), part of the Department of Physics, is a centre of excellence in applications-oriented research at the University of Strathclyde. The Institute’s key objective is to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial applications and development in the area of photonics. The IoP is located in the £100M Technology and Innovation Centre on Strathclyde’s Glasgow city centre campus, at the heart of Glasgow’s Innovation District, where it is co-located with the UK’s first Fraunhofer Research Centre. Researchers at the IoP are active in a broad range of photonics fields under the areas of Photonic Devices, Advanced Lasers and Neurophotonics
Funding details
The funding covers the full stipend and tuition fees at the home rate (not the international rate). To be classed as a home student, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Be a UK national (meeting residency requirements), or
- Have settled status, or
- Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
- Have indefinite leave to remain or enter
While there is no funding in place for opportunities marked "unfunded", there are lots of different options to help you fund postgraduate research. Visit funding your postgraduate research for links to government grants, research councils funding and more, that could be available.
Apply
Applicants should send an up-to-date CV to iop@strath.ac.uk in the first instance.
Number of places: 1
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