Project at AIAS

A major goal of present day physics research is to break the ground for a transition to technologies that harness the full power of the quantum superposition principle and quantum entanglement. While there are still enormous challenges in this respect, we have nevertheless seen exponential increase in stability of quantum devices that are built using superconducting circuits over the past decade, propelling this platform to a leading quantum technology that generates enormous attention in academia and has attracted great investments from industry. For future quantum technology built from modular component, it is essential to have quantum equivalents of classical electronic components. However, in spite of these riveting developments, there is still no ‘quantum equivalent’ of the transistor in superconducting circuits.
 
In this project we want to realize the first ever quantum spin transistor using a superconducting circuit. There are many unexplored opportunities with smaller systems that are directly applicable to state-of-the-art experiments that typically have a small number of qubits. In addition, it is clear that small optimized devices necessarily yield the best starting point for building larger quantum networks.

Short bio

Nikolaj Thomas Zinner is a theoretical physicist that works on quantum physics at the border of few- and many-body physics. Starting his career with a PhD in nuclear structure and astrophysics, he then moved into atomic and condensed-matter physics. Along with international collaborators, he has developed a new approach to strongly interacting particles that show great engineering potential in these systems which is promising for applications in future quantum technologies. From 2017 to 2018 Zinner held a Jens Christian Skou Fellowship at AIAS.

Currently, Zinner holds a three-year position at AIAS, partly as an AIAS Deputy Director and partly as a JCS Fellow, from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021.