Posted in cake, learnin' stuff, research blogging, superconductors on December 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
So here is an update on the mask I was designing to do some qubit experiments:
This mask should allow us to do various things. There are some coplanar resonator structures and some time-domain coherence chips here.
I’ve had to put anodisation bridges and anod-layer cuts all over the place. This is because the entire bottom layer [...]
Posted in experimental insights, research blogging on October 28, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Drafting out ideas for where everything goes:
The fridge in question will be used for several different ‘interchangeable’ experiments, which always makes it tricky to wire. The majority of the lines need to be coaxial, as they will be used for either microwave transmission or fast pulse control of qubits.
Posted in RSFQ, experimental insights, learnin' stuff, quantum computing, research blogging on October 21, 2009 | 3 Comments »
It’s hard work being the only postdoc in the village. One day I’m fixing wiring on the fridge, the next I’m analysing the effect of spin-flip scattering on my superconductor-ferromagnet data. Today I’m being the local RSFQ/SQUID layout afficionado.
I’m designing some qubit circuits. Process design rules are a pain, there are about 10 layers in [...]
Posted in research blogging on September 17, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Via Swans on Tea:
“Real Lives and White Lies in the Funding of Scientific Research”
An excellent article explaining the problems faced by research groups, especially small ones, when a large portion of allocated researcher time is dedicated to writing grant proposals.
Posted in learnin' stuff, research blogging on July 14, 2009 | 6 Comments »
I’m trying to write a journal paper. It’s really hard. It’s the first paper I’ve ever written. Even if it does not get published, it is very good practice. It would be good to be first author.
The paper is about using the experimental technique of switching measurements (aka Macroscopic Quantum Tunneling) to assess the quality [...]
Posted in cake, experimental insights, quantum computing, research blogging on July 7, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Here is a picture of the new experimental setup:
In this picture we are testing that the apparatus cools down OK. This type of fridge is an Oxford Instruments Heliox, which is a He-3 based cooling system. The principle of operation is that you cool a ‘plate’ of metal to 1.5K by pumping a small amount [...]
Posted in expt vs theory showdown, research blogging, superconductors on June 12, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Here’s a measurement showing the response of a Josephson Junction as it switches from the zero voltage (superconducting) state to the voltage state, corresponding to escape of the phase from a potential well in the junction’s ‘washboard’ (energy) potential. The switching is a probabilistic process, so many measurements are compiled into a histogram at each [...]
Posted in research blogging on May 7, 2009 | 3 Comments »
This is so true:
FINANCING SCIENCE – Needed: Professional Research Technicians: Government Funding Is Up, But Professionalism Still Suffers
(via Science Progress)
Often grants cover salaries for postdoc time, PhD student time and tenured academic staff hours. But what we need more often than not (especially in the experimental scenario) are skilled technicians, not just workshop technicians but [...]
Posted in quantum spookiness, research blogging, superconductors on April 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
So I’m taking some tentative steps towards this open-notebook science / open-research movement, (at least whilst I remain in academia) so here are some examples of recent data I have been taking:
Disclaimer: If this post makes no sense at all, don’t worry. I’m writing a series of posts on ‘Introduction to Josephson Junctions’ which might [...]
Posted in controversial..., feeling dumb, research blogging on January 22, 2009 | 1 Comment »
In my experience, physicists academics aren’t generally very good at meetings.
Yesterday was amazing – it’s the first time I think we’ve had a meeting that was productive! We actually planned it. There was an agenda, several of the participants gave short talks, and I drafted up an action plan and took minutes. The meeting kept [...]
