Postdoctoral Associate or Research Associate

Job Summary

The proposed work is a joint collaboration between the Faint Photonics group within the Applied Physics Division and the Ion Storage Group within the Time and Frequency Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, CO, USA. Primary duties consist of analyzing and improving the performance of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) at visible and UV wavelengths for the purpose of generating distributed entanglement between remote ions. This task involves both nanofabrication in a specialized "cleanroom" facility, as well as device testing and characterization in an optics setup. The research requires the development of novel materials and SNSPD device designs to combine multiple performance metrics into single devices such as system efficiency, maximum count rate, polarization dependence, and dark count rate at wavelengths relevant to entanglement generation. Contribution to various international partnerships and collaborations involving SNSPDs, both academic and commercial, will also be required. This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Professional Research Experience Program (PREP).

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

• Design and fabricate new SNSPD architectures to achieve >90% efficiency at visible and UV wavelengths.
• Test SNSPD devices using cryogenic systems and contribute to maintenance and operation of those systems.
• Contribute to domestic and international collaborations with groups working on SNSPDs, both academic and commercial.
• Develop optical testing setups for measuring system detection efficiency at the relevant visible and UV wavelengths.
• Support experiments within the Ion Storage Group.
• Publish results in peer-reviewed journals.
• Present results at conferences.