Start of the first CZS Junior Research Group in Stuttgart

Advanced Technologies rely on a very fine control of matter and materials even on the level of individual atoms. To increase calculation time, storage power or energy efficiency, significant endeavor has been undertaken toward the miniaturization of devices: electronic chips pattern metals, insulators and semiconductors at the nanometer scale. On an elementary level, the properties of materials surrounding us are substantially determined by the spatial arrangement of the atoms that constitute them. Once set, these static properties are near impossible to change: transforming a metal into an insulator, for example, requires extreme conditions of temperature, pressure or magnetic field that are very difficult to produce.

“The next leap in technology is the dynamical control of matter,” says Dr Laetitia Farinacci, “Similar to how a microwave rapidly heats food, we will exploit the interaction of matter with electromagnetic fields –  in other words, light – to control their fundamental properties. “

Dr. Farinacci, who started the research group in February 2024, will tackle this challenge at the fundamental level and investigate the interaction of light, magnetism and superconductivity. Her junior research group will use a scanning tunneling microscope to control the exact positions of magnetic atoms and design nanostructures with precisely defined quantum states that can be manipulated by light. The dynamic control of the nanostructures’ physical properties will then be achieved with state-of-the-art techniques ranging from coherent control by electron spin resonance, pump-probe and stochastic resonance spectroscopy.

“Time-domain control of nanostructures gives a new handle to shape quantum states with great precision. It may enable dynamically reconfigurable electronic devices in which function is controlled by light fields and no longer only by the choice of materials.” comments Prof. Sebastian Loth at the Institute for Functional Matter and Quantum Technologies that is hosting the research group of Dr. Farinacci. “We are delighted to have Dr. Laetitia Farinacci as the first CZS junior research group leader for quantum photonics at the Stuttgart site. With her research program and her expertise, Laetitia Farinacci has not only convinced the Executive Board but also the international Scientific Advisory Board of our Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung Center QPhoton” Tilman Pfau points out, one of the three directors of the CZS Center for Quantum Photonics in Stuttgart. Laetitia Farinacci's CZS Junior Research Group is the first of a total of four CZS Junior Research Groups for Quantum Photonics at the CZS Center QPhoton. Another CZS Junior Research Group will start in Stuttgart in August. A call for applications for the remaining vacancies in Jena and Stuttgart is planned for spring 2024.