This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.
Research Title:Â Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors for quantum entanglement of trapped ions
The work will entail: The proposed work is a joint collaboration between the Faint Photonics group within the Applied Physics Division and the Ion Storage Group within the Time and Frequency Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, CO, USA. Primary duties consist of analyzing and improving the performance of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) at visible and UV wavelengths for the purpose of generating distributed entanglement between remote ions. This task involves both nanofabrication in a specialized “cleanroom” facility, as well as device testing and characterization in an optics setup. The research requires the development of novel materials and SNSPD device designs to combine multiple performance metrics into single devices such as system efficiency, maximum count rate, polarization dependence, and dark count rate at wavelengths relevant to entanglement generation. Contribution to various international partnerships and collaborations involving SNSPDs, both academic and commercial, will also be required.
Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Design and fabricate new SNSPD architectures to achieve >90% efficiency at visible and UV wavelengths
- Test SNSPD devices using cryogenic systems and contribute to maintenance and operation of those systems.
- Contribute to domestic and international collaborations with groups working on SNSPDs, both academic and commercial
- Develop optical testing setups for measuring system detection efficiency at the relevant visible and UV wavelengths
- Support experiments within the Ion Storage Group
- Publish results in peer-reviewed journals.
- Present results at conferences.
Qualifications:
- PhD in physics, electrical engineering, or a related field
- No additional experience beyond a Ph.D. degree is required.
- Strong oral and written communication skills
- Expertise in one or more of the following is desired
- SNSPD design, fabrication and testing
- Experimental quantum optics such as entanglement generation using nonlinear optics
- Design and operation of cryogenic systems
- Vacuum and high-vacuum systems
- RF electronics and circuit design
- CAD/CAM software such as Solidworks
- Programming using Python and/or Labview
Privacy Act Statement
Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)
Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.
PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate administrative functions of the PREP Program.
Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.
Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.
SURA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that no one should be discriminated against because of their differences, such as age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, religion, or sexual orientation. All employment decisions shall be made without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local law.
PREP0004570