Placement Information
Year you started your placement
2014
Placement period
May – August, September – December
Supervisor’s name
Ilja Gerhardt
Project Details
Overview
I work with cryogenic and optical equipment in a lab at the 3rd Institute of Physics at Stuttgart University. I work on one large project in conjunction with two graduate students, which involves a variable-frequency dye laser, organic molecules, and temperatures of 1 Kelvin. We prepare a solution of organic molecules and place them in the cryostat, which is then cooled by liquid helium and liquid nitrogen. When excited by the laser light, the molecules emit more light, effectively acting as a second laser. The twist is with a small focus size and a low concentration of molecules, we can excite a single molecule independent of it’s neighbours. The result is a “laser” of a stream of single photons, whose quantum properties can be exploited to perform logic operations similar to a regular transistor in a processor.
Project objectives
The objectives of this project is to demonstrate several purely quantum effects. The prerequisite is to produce a stream a single photons by exciting a single organic molecule with a laser, and proving that the photons are single photons. The next step is to demonstrate Hong-Ou-Mandel interference, which is a purely quantum effect and a precursor to our ultimate goal. The final objective is to produce an interference state that can be controlled to produce the same results as an electronic logic circuit.
Research outcomes
Project status
Completed
Expected completion date
12/19/2014
BenHughes – 2014 – Presentation
My Co-op Experience at MPI
Why did you apply for a placement with Max Planck Institute?
I applied for a position here in order to experience a highly regarded facility, and gain some experience with international travel. I was intrigued by the experiments being performed here, and having heard a lot about MPI in the past few years, I was very excited to see firsthand the institute here in Stuttgart.
What recommendations do you have for students who wish to participate in MPI-UBC exchange program?
Eight months may seem like a long time, but the time passes very quickly once the work gets going. The staff are very friendly and they are eager to make the experience of arriving in Germany smooth, so be sure to contact them. And before that point, most of the jobs here are made easier by some experience with quantum mechanics, so try to shift a related course earlier in your schedule.
Tell us about your travels and cultural experiences in Germany and the rest of the Europe
Germany, at least in the southwest, feels incredibly like Vancouver without the ocean. Surprisingly the weather is about the same, and the people tend to be easy to get along with. There is a strong feeling of mutual trust for strangers here.
Germany is also a great place to eat (though seafood and sushi options are severely and rightly limited, except along the north coast). Festivals with food, beer, and wine are fairly common.
There’s a ton of history (both recent and ancient) to be explored in Europe, and the architecture is generally impressive. There’s a vibrant, insider culture in Berlin, all night activity in Paris, and amazing sculpted buildings in Prague. It’s worth paying special attention to the cities where the rivers are accessible, such as in Zurich, or built on beautiful beaches, like Nice.
