진학프로석·박사 채용 접수 플랫폼

Manipulating and coherently controlling quantum systems are the next challenges in the second quantum revolution. Solid-state quantum emitters, such as single molecules, offer great prospects as quantum sensors for ultra-sensitive detection. They are also promising candidates for the realization of arrays of interacting quantum emitters in quantum networks as they can easily be manipulated with light and integrated into quantum photonics devices. Among them, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules embedded in well-chosen solid matrices at cryogenic temperatures have proven to be test-bench systems for quantum optics.

Nano-mechanical oscillators have attracted considerable interest in recent years. Upon decreasing their size, mechanical oscillators become increasingly sensitive to any external perturbation and thus very interesting for sensing and the exploration of various physical phenomena and applications, such as light-matter interaction, imaging, surface science, the diffusion of adsorbed atoms on the surface of a resonator, ultrasensitive force and mass detection, and out-of-equilibrium thermodynamics. Moreover mechanical oscillators can couple different degrees of freedom with important applications in quantum technology and quantum sensing. A way to detect and have quantum control over a mechanical resonator is to couple it with a well-known quantum system whose state can then be accurately measured.

In this project, we propose to use single fluorescent molecules as an efficient tool to detect and manipulate the vibrations of a carbon-nanotube nano-mechanical oscillator. This system operates at the nanoscale and can be used as a mass or force detector with exquisite sensitivity due to the extreme aspect ratio and reduced mass of the nanotube. It also has the particularity of coupling bending modes of a nanotube with resonance frequencies up to tens of MHz and a single molecule with a lifetime-limited optical transition line, thus offering great perspectives to reach the quantum regime with this hybrid molecule-nanooscillator system.

Selected references of the group in link with this research field :

1- “Single-molecule detection of nanomechanical motion”, V. Puller, B. Lounis & F. Pistolesi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110 (2013) 125501.

2- “Optical Nanoscopy with Excited State Saturation at Liquid Helium Temperatures”, Nature Photonics, 9 (2015) 658-662.

3- 3D optical nanoscopy with excited state saturation at liquid helium temperatures », J.-B. Trebbia, R. Baby, P. Tamarat, and B. Lounis, Optics Express, 27 (2019) 23486

4- “Two-level system as topological actuator for nanomechanical modes”, C. Dutreix, R. Avriller, B. Lounis, and F. Pistolesi, Phys. Rev. Research, 2 (2020) 023268