Introduction

We work at the interface of quantum optics, condensed-matter physics, electrical engineering and materials science to create novel quantum devices, with the dual goals to investigate the fundamental physics of quantum phenomena in condensed-matter systems and to develop applications to secure quantum networking and nanoscale quantum sensing.

To reach our goals we study a variety of solid-state quantum systems, including  crystal defects in diamond or SiC,  III-V self-assembled quantum dots, two-dimensional semiconductors, or rare earth ions doped into insulating materials. The quantum devices we develop integrate sophisticated photonic functionalities, to enhance photon extraction and manipulation, and electronics, to carefully control the electrical environment of our qubits. For some applications, we also equip our quantum devices with self-optimisation capabilities, drawing from real-time machine learning and Bayesian estimation algorithms.

Our devices find applications in quantum networking, with the development of high-quality single photon sources, quantum memories and quantum repeaters. We are also very interested in quantum sensing, in particular in the use of individual electronic spins as magnetic sensors with nanoscale spatial resolution, and their application to investigate the physics of novel quantum materials. Some of our devices provide a tunable platform to perform quantum simulations of condensed-matter systems, such as the Hubbard model, giving us insights into fascinating fundamental quantum phenomena.

Our group takes great pride in developing custom experimental instrumentation, from high-throughput optical microscopes to study single emitters, to sophisticated electronics embedding real-time capabilities to create microwave pulses with controlled amplitude/phase for spin control. Our research requires us to develop high-performance computer code for experiment control, data acquisition and to develop numerical simulations of the physical systems we are investigating.