Internship/Master project: Hypersonic phonon waveguides

Work Activities

Phonons—quasi-particles describing sound propagation in materials—can act as carriers of quantum information. Developing nanoscale phonon waveguides that guide phonons on a chip with low loss is therefore highly desirable, especially at hypersound frequencies (~10 GHz). A key challenge is backscattering from defects, which could be mitigated using concepts from topological physics. Inspired by the quantum spin Hall effect, you will design, and fabricate nanoscale phononic crystals supporting topological edge states, and characterize them through optical experiments. Achieving topological protection at these frequencies could enable defect-insensitive acoustic links between spin qubits for silicon quantum computing.

Qualifications

You are currently enrolled in a Master’s program in physics, chemistry, materials science, or a related field. You have a nationality of an EU-...