BSc and Graduate Students Benefit From New Quantum Education Lab
A cutting-edge quantum science teaching laboratory now offers Technion students from all faculties the opportunity to gain experience in this increasingly significant field. The state-of-the-art lab, the first of its kind in Israel, enables BSc and graduate students in such diverse fields as Chemistry, Physics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science to acquire valuable hands-on knowledge in quantum technology by taking a course at the new lab.
The teaching laboratory was developed by Prof. Aharon Blank from the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and Prof. David Gershoni from the Faculty of Physics, thanks to funding from the Helen Diller Quantum Center. It is staffed by doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows who work with students on various experiments and enrich their theoretical and practical knowledge of quantum science.
The lab currently offers three experimental setups: quantum optics with single photons, quantum bits (qubits) in Nitrogen vacancy in diamonds, and nuclear spin qubits in nuclear magnetic resonance. Students who take a course in the lab complete experiments in two of these three subjects, spending half a semester on each. Some of the setups are based on commercial educational kits, but for others unique hardware has been developed in-house. The setups are versatile and can be used for either basic or advanced experiments.
The Nitrogen vacancy in diamonds setup was designed by Yaron Artzi, one of Prof. Blank’s doctoral students, and Artzi also instructs the students who work on this experiment in the lab. “We are exposing students to quantum phenomena that they previously only learned about in theory. Nitrogen vacancy is at the forefront of technology and in this lab students have the opportunity to conduct research in this field,” he notes. “Until recently, this type of lab would only be used for advanced research. Now we enable BSc and Master’s students to gain up-to-date experience that is relevant to many fields,” he adds.
Students must have a basic background in quantum science or quantum engineering to take part in a course at the quantum science teaching lab. The lab offers two types of courses: either once a week, worth two academic credits, or twice a week for four credits. In the 2020/21 academic year, eight students participated in the first semester and 16 in the second.
Some Technion researchers have started requesting that students who are interested in doing research in their lab must first take the quantum technologies lab course. In the future, the plan is to add more experimental setups to the teaching lab, in order to further increase the opportunities for BSc and Master’s students to gain practical experience in a range of quantum fields.
If you are interested to register for one of the quantum labs, please contact the Chemistry faculty (basic lab course number:126604 -2 credit points, advanced lab course number: 126605 -4 credit points ) or the physics faculty (118076- advanced lab-4 credit points).