PhD in the Ion Quantum Technology Group

PhD studentship on the Demonstration of sympathetic cooling and diabatic ion transport in an ion trap quantum computer (2022)

What you get

• Fully-paid tuition fees for three and a half years.
• A tax-free bursary for living costs for three and a half years. From October 2021/22 this is expected to be £15609 per year
• A support grant for three and a half years of £1,650 per year for travel and conferences.
• Only UK Higher Education “Home Fee” status applicants and EU residents satisfying the three-year residency requirement are eligible.

Type of award

Postgraduate Research

PhD project

At Sussex we have recently realized a new generation of ion chips which incorporate an X-junction ion trap array as well as integrated current carrying wires required to implement high-fidelity 2-qubit gates. In order to execute quantum algorithm, we need to demonstrate fast ion transport operations making use of the idea of diabatic shuttling. We are developing diabatic shuttling as part of a collaboration with Imperial College London. In diabatic ion transport makes use of phase sensitive control of the trapping potentials in order to allow for fast transport without injecting kinetic energy to the ion. Sympathetic cooling is a key feature of an ion trap quantum computer. As part of this studentship, the student will demonstrate sympathetic cooling with Barium ions. The student will then introduce a set of ion transport protocols where they will demonstrate diabatic shuttling followed by sympathetic cooling. The project will culminate in the execution of a quantum algorithm including gate execution, diabatic shuttling and sympathetic cooling

The Ion Quantum Technology Group is one of the world’s leading centres for the implementation of trapped-ion quantum computing and simulation. The group is part of the UK Hub on Quantum Computing and Simulation. The group currently spans 6 Postdoctoral Fellows, 14 PhD students, the Senior Scientist and the Head of Group.

Eligibility

Applicants must hold, or expect to hold, at least a UK upper second class degree (or non-UK equivalent qualification) in Physics, or a closely-related area, or else a lower second class degree followed by a relevant Master's degree.Only UK

Higher Education “Home Fee” status applicants and EU residents satisfying the three-year residency requirement are eligible.

Deadline

24 June 2022 23:45

How to apply

Apply through the University of Sussex on-line system. 

https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/apply/log-into-account

Select the PhD in Physics, with an entry date of September 2022.

In the Finance & Fees section, state that you wish to be considered for studentship no IQT/2021/01

We advise early application as the position will be filled as soon as a suitable applicant can be found.

Due to the high volume of applications received, you may only hear from us if your application is successful.

Contact us

If you have practical questions about the progress of your on-line application or your eligibility, contact Emma Ransley at mps-pgrsupport@sussex.ac.uk

For academic questions about the project, contact Prof Winfried Hensinger (Professor of Quantum Technologies), (w.k.hensinger@sussex.ac.uk).

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Some recent media coverage about the group’s work can be found here: The Telegraph, Nature, Financial Times, CGTN documentary, BBC, Sky News Tonight With Dermot Murnaghan, VICE, and Daily Mail.