Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Circuit Quantum Electrodynamic Spectroscope: a new superconducting microwave quantum sensor

Project description

Quantum sensing leveraging superconductivity

Superconductivity is a macroscopic quantum phenomenon: electric charge carriers in a superconductor pair up, forming a single quantum state as if they were a large atom. Using small contacts between superconductors, researchers can engineer a variety of quantum circuits for quantum technologies and run algorithms on them. Such superconducting circuits can interact strongly with each other while maintaining high coherence. This feature and the ability to operate at microwave frequencies well below the gap energy of most materials renders superconducting circuits suitable for use as quantum sensors. The ERC-funded cQEDscope project will utilise superconducting circuits to expand our understanding of superconductivity. For their study, researchers will use kinetic inductance and, Raman spectroscopy variants and will create the first Higgs-polariton system.

Objective

Superconductivity is a remarkable phase of matter which has advanced a wide variety of fields, including particle accelerators, biomedical imaging tools, and quantum computers. However, there are fundamental open questions about the nature of the superconducting state in many materials, with new ones being discovered every year. Understanding their structure can help unravel the dynamics of interacting many-body quantum systems, and lead to a next generation of technological innovations.
Superconducting circuits are macroscopic tunable quantum devices which can interact strongly while maintaining high coherence, making them a leading quantum computing platform. These advantages also make them excellent quantum sensors, and as they are entirely superconductor-based and operate at microwave frequencies well below the gap energy of most materials, superconducting circuits are ideally suited for the exploration of novel superconductors.
cQEDscope will utilize superconducting circuits to expand our understanding of superconductivity in three ways: 1) using strong coupling to kinetic inductance, we will probe the structure of the superconducting order parameter in micron-sized samples (such as flakes of layered materials), orders of magnitude below current techniques; 2) using nonlinearity, we will implement a microwave analogue of Raman spectroscopy, allowing us to probe a wide frequency range and observe collective modes within the superconducting phase; 3) using quantum coherence, our circuit will interact with the Higgs collective mode to create the first Higgs-polariton, a novel quantum system by itself and a new path to study the superconducting structure. In addition to our contribution to the understanding of novel superconductors, cQEDscope will also develop a new quantum sensing tool for material exploration, and a promising new class of hybrid superconducting circuits with potential quantum technology applications.

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2022-STG

See all projects funded under this call

Host institution

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 480 000,00
Address
HOFGARTENSTRASSE 8
80539 MUNCHEN
Germany

See on map

Region
Bayern Oberbayern München, Kreisfreie Stadt
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 480 000,00

Beneficiaries (1)

My booklet 0 0