Susana Plascencia, ESR 4

  • Research Project: Quantum memories based on fiber materials
  • Supervisors:
Academic Background
  • Bachelor in Physics, University of Guadalajara, Mexico
  • Master in Optics, Research Center in Optics, Mexico
  • Master thesis at Fraunhofer IOF, Germany
About me

I always feel fascinated by the light phenomena, the colors on the sky such as the sunset and rainbow were my first curiosities. Understanding the behavior of the light and its interaction with the environment encourage me to pursue a degree in Physics. There, I learned that optics in not only rays and waves but also has some unimaginable properties such as “non-locality and entanglement“ that let me completely amazed. Having the opportunity to understand the quantum nature of light while at the same time using this knowledge for applications in technology make Photonics my passion.

About the research project

Within the emerging field of the Quantum Information processing several efforts have been made towards the creation of a large-scale quantum network, making the quantum memory a key element to succeed on this goal. Among the quantum memories, solid-state systems are particularly attractive as the absence of atomic motion gives the system compactness and simplicity of the required optical system, leading to good prospects for the realization of integrated devices. My research project will focus on rare-earth-ion-doped solids, which are strong candidates for quantum memories since they possess long optical and spin coherence times. In particular, the goal of this work is to investigate glass and ceramic materials as a candidate system to be used as a quantum memory that can be directly integrated into optical fibres. This project also involves the fabrication and characterization of rare-earth doped glass and ceramic samples.
The collaboration between ICFO and Corning Inc. set the perfect conditions to achieve this goal. Having the opportunity to experience both environments (academy and industry) will give me invaluable skills to prepare for a career in the photonics field.

Contact

Susana.Plascencia@icfo.eu

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