Understanding the signals emitted by moving liquids
Elasticity is one of the oldest physical properties of condensed matter. It is expressed by a constant of proportionality G between the applied stress (s) and the deformation (?): s = G.? (Hooke's law). The absence of resistance to shear deformation (G' = 0) indicates liquid-like behavior (Maxwell model). Long considered specific to solids, shear elasticity has recently been identified in liquids at the submillimeter scale [1].
The identification of liquid shear elasticity (non-zero G') is a promise of discoveries of new solid properties. Thus, we will explore the thermal response of liquids [2,3], exploit the capacity of conversion of mechanical energy into temperature variations and develop a new generation of micro-hydrodynamic tools.
At the nanoscopic scale, we will study the influence of a solid surface in contact with the liquid. It will be a question of studying by unique methods such as Inelastic Neutron Scattering and Synchrotron radiation, the dynamics of the solid-liquid interface using Very Large Research Facilities such as the ILL or the ESRF, as well as by microscopy (AFM). Finally, we will strengthen our collaborations with theoreticians, in particular with K. Trachenko of the Queen Mary Institute "Top 10 Physics World Breakthrough" and A. Zaccone of the University of Milan.
The PhD topic is related to wetting, macroscopic thermal effects, phonon dynamics and liquid transport.
Thermally activated glide of screw dislocations in bcc metals
Thermally activated glide of dislocation is a key point for understanding the plastic deformation of metals. The screw dislocation in bcc metals is an archetypical case for which a large quantity of experimental data has been published in the scientific literature. It is then possible to compare these data to the theoretical predictions realized from the Vineyard statistical theory [1,2]. Such a theory is an essential tool allowing to perform a scale transition from atomistic computations toward macroscopic scale at which are realized the deformation tests.
The aim of our research will be to test Vineyard theory in comparison with molecular dynamics simulations [3]. Some preliminary computations have shown a significant discrepancy that is not present when we repeat the comparison for point-like defect as vacancies or self-interstitial atoms.
[1] Vineyard G.H., J. Phys. Chem. Solids 3, 121 (1957).
[2] Proville L., Rodney D., Marinica M-C., Nature Mater. 11, 845 (2012).
[3] Proville L., Choudhury A., Nature Mater. 23, 47 (2024).
Design and implementation of cryogenic electronics for signal acquisition at cryogenic temperatures
The aim of our proposed thesis is to demonstrate that it is possible to integrate at cryogenic temperatures the entire instrumentation chain for reading and controlling quantum components at cryogenic temperatures
qubits. In other words, we are seeking to place in-situ, in the cryostat and as close as possible to the quantum components
(qubits), all the systems that are currently located outside. In addition, to achieve a major breakthrough
we are aiming for a fully programmable microwave chain (> 2 GHz). This is the subject of an ongoing thesis
financed by the Agence Innovation Défense (AID) and the Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (CEA) and a RAPID-type project application.
RAPID type project.
As part of this thesis, we will start at a few hundred MHz. Several main problems
are identified and need to be solved, including
- design and integration of chiplets in System-in-Packages (SiPs) compatible with cryogenic temperatures ;
- interfacing and integrating the Analog to Digital Converter (ADC), Digital to Analog
Converter (DAC) and processing components;
- manage high data rates (several tens of Gbit/s per qubit);
- maximum roundtrip latency of 200 ns;
- energy management (a few tens of mW budget per qubit);
- choice of cryogenic stages adapted to the different processing stages;
- choice of independent technologies
Quantum computing with nuclear spins
Nuclear spins in solids are amongst the quantum systems with the longest coherence times, up to minutes or even hours, and as such are attractive qubit candidates; however, controlling and reading out individual nuclear spins is highly challenging. In our laboratory, we have developed a new way to do so. The nuclear spin qubits are interfaced by an electron spin ancilla to which they are coupled by the hyperfine interaction. The electron spin is then measured by microwave photon counting at millikelvin temperatures [1,2]. Nuclear-spin single-shot readout is performed via the electron spin [3], and coherent control is achieved through the use of microwave Raman transitions [4]. The electron spins are Er3+ ions in a CaWO4 crystal, and the nuclear spins are 183W atoms in the matrix, which have a spin 1/2.
[1] E. Albertinale et al., Nature 600, 434 (2021)
[2] Z. Wang et al., Nature 619, 276 (2023)
[3] J. Travesedo et al., arxiv (2024)
[4] J. O'Sullivan et al., arxiv (2024)
Magnetic DIsks as Transducer of Angular Momentum
The proposed topic is a collaborative project to exploit suspended magnetic disks as novel microwave transducers of orbital angular momentum. Our goal is to develop ultra-high fidelity opto-mechanical modulators operating at GHz frequencies by integrating magnetic materials into optical components. This innovative concept arises from recent progress in the study of angular momentum conservation laws by magnon modes in axi-symmetric cavities, leading to new opportunities to develop a more frugal, agile, and sustainable communications technology. Our proposed design has the potential to achieve coherent interconversion between the microwave frequency range in which wireless networks or quantum computers operate and optical network frequencies, which is the optimal frequency range for long-distance communications. In this regard, our proposal not only proposes new applications of magnonics to the field of optics not previously envisioned, but also builds a bridge between the spintronics and the electronic and quantum communities.
In this proposal, the elastic deformations are generated by the magnetization dynamics through the magneto-elastic tensor and its contactless coupling to a microwave circuit. We have shown that coherent coupling between magnons and phonons can be achieved by precisely tuning the magnetic resonance degenerate with a selected elastic mode via the application of an external magnetic field. We expect to achieve ultra-high fidelity conversion by focusing our study on micron-sized single crystal magnetic garnet structures integrated with GaAs photonic waveguides or cavities. In addition, we propose the fabrication of suspended cavities as a means to minimize further energy leakage (elastic or optical) through the substrate.
The first challenge is to produce hybrid materials that integrate high quality garnet films with semiconductors. We propose a radically new approach based on micron-thick magnetic garnet films grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) on a gadolinium-gallium-garnet (GGG) substrate. The originality is to bond the flipped film to a semiconductor wafer and then remove most of the the GGG substrate by mechanical polishing. The resulting multi-layer is then processed using standard lithography techniques, taking advantage of the relative robustness of garnet materials to chemical, thermal or milling processes.
The second challenge is to go beyond the excitation of uniform modes and target modes with orbital angular momentum as encoders of arbitrarily large quanta of nJ? for mode multiplexed communication channels or multi-level quantum state registers. The project will take advantage of recent advances in spin-orbit coupling between azimuthal spin waves as well as elastic scattering of magnons on anisotropic magneto-crystalline tensors. In this project, we also want to go beyond uniformly magnetized state and exploit the ability to continuously morph the equilibrium magnetic texture in the azimuthal direction as a means of engineering the selection rules and thus coherently access otherwise hidden mode symmetries.
Topological and altermagnetic materials: what power can be extracted from the anomalous Hall effect?
The major argument to promote the development of spin electronics and topological materials is the low power dissipation when using spin degrees of freedom and transverse configurations such as Hall configurations. Indeed, in the case of a topological phase, the generated effective magnetic field is expected not to dissipate. However, such an assertion must be the subject of a theoretical description in the context of a realistic electronic device in steady state. The aim of the thesis is to determine the useful power of these devices, in a study that is both experimental and theoretical.
In this context, the definition of the useful power is an open problem. Indeed, the thermodynamics of this type of non-equilibrium system involves cross effects between the degrees of freedom of the electric charge carriers, those of the spin of these carriers, as well as those of the magnetization. The non-equilibrium cross effects are described in a very general way by the famous Onsager reciprocity relations. We have developed a variational method to establish the steady state of a Hall bar and the power dissipated in a load circuit, as a function of the load resistance and the Hall angle. An unexpected result predicts the existence of a maximum ("maximum power transfer theorem"). Preliminary measurements based on the anomalous Hall effect have recently validated the prediction. This experimental confirmation allows us to establish a thesis project that aims to reproduce the measurements on a large set of materials (metals, semiconductors, oxides) and in particular magnetic topological materials, called altermagnetic.
In addition, a ferromagnetic resonance study (called spin pumping) will involve thermoelectric effects, whose dissipative properties, measured on an adjacent load circuit, remain to be determined.
Superconducting Devices in Silicon
The project focuses on the study of superconducting devices with silicon as a semiconductor. Those include standard silicon transistors with superconducting source and drain contacts and superconducting resonators. The common properties is the superconducting material which is elaborated with the constrain of being compatible with the silicon CMOS technology.
In the actual situation of the project, devices with CoSi2, PtSi and Si:B superconducting contacts have been fabricated using the 300 mm clean room facility at the LETI and in collaboration with our partners at Uppsala university and C2N Paris Saclay. The main issue is now to characterize the electronic transport properties at very low temperature.
The solid-state systems, presently considered for quantum computation, are built from localized two-level systems, prime examples are superconducting qubits or semiconducting
quantum dots. Due to the fact that they are localized, they require a fixed amount of hardware per qubit.
Propagating or “flying” qubits have distinct advantages with respect to localised ones: the hardware footprint depends only on the gates and the qubits themselves (photons) can be created on demand making these systems easily scalable. A qubit that would combine the advantages of localised two-level systems and flying qubits would provide a paradigm shift in quantum technology. In the long term, the availability of these objects would unlock the possibility to build a universal quantum computer that combines a small, fixed hardware footprint and an arbitrarily large number of qubits with long-range interactions. A promising approach in this direction is to use electrons rather than
photons to realise such flying qubits. The advantage of electronic excitations is the Coulomb interaction, which allows the implementation of a two-qubit gate.
The aim of the present Phd will be the development of the first quantum-nanoelectronic platform for the creation, manipulation and detection of flying electrons on time scales down to the picosecond and to exploit them for quantum technologies.
Two-qubit gate made with Germanium heterostructures
We are working on germanium spin qubits, a promising and versatile base material to engineer spin quantum bits. In these "heterostructures", holes are hosted in a germanium layer sandwiched between two layers of silicon/germanium. These holes exhibit a very high mobility and unlike electron spins which are only sensitive to magnetic fields, hole spins can be manipulated by an electric field, ie by voltages on a gate. The all-electrical control comes with its own drawback: spins become sensitive to electrical, and therefore charge noise in the devices. The germanium heterostructures feature metallic top gates that mostly screen the charge noise from defects they covered; however, in regions not covered by top gates, unscreened charges are responsible for charge noise limiting the coherence time.
We are acquiring a world unique cleanroom equipment combining atomic layer deposition and atomic layer etching, which will allow for the development of original structures where the gates are penetrating deep within the heterostructure, in order to circumvent the effect of these lone charges on the surface in the case of top gates. With this novel scheme, the definition and manipulation of quantum dots will be extremely simplified, and we plan to obtain two-qubit gate devices well within the scope of this PhD.