The project provided the following skills to its ESRs to increase their employability:
1. Research skills: exposure to cutting-edge research projects with a strong supervisor-student relationship leading to prolific scientific skills, including formidable paper-writing and presentation skills. Inter-sectoral secondments were emphasized, which broadened the knowledge of ESRs, for an interdisciplinary thought process able to tackle the most challenging modern scientific problems.
2. Transferable skills: the active involvement of non-academic beneficiaries and partner organizations provided ESRs with transferable skills in management, leadership, business innovation, scientific communication through traditional and social media.
3. Creativity and Entrepreneurship: LasIonDef provided an open and stimulating environment for creating new ideas. ESRs were encouraged to network at project events and contribute to the dissemination on the project web site and social networks. The balance between research and training within LasIonDef gave ESRs an exceptional combination of scientific and transversal skills, which improved their intersectorial employability as well as their entrepreneurial attitude towards deep-tech startup initiatives.
LasIonDef provided innovative doctoral training in the field of quantum technologies with topics including material synthesis, single-ion implantation and ion-beam lithography, laser processing, photonics design and characterisation, quantum optics, and microfluidic lab-on a chip development. Compared to previous doctoral programs on quantum technologies, LasIonDef presented a unique, interdisciplinary approach involving cutting edge fabrication technologies and promising material platforms.
ESRs developed innovative laser and ion beam and fabrication techniques to enable commercialisable quantum technologies with quantum bits with long coherence time within diamond. In a comprehensive study involving three types of diamond, ESRs discovered that laser writing process did not deteriorate the spin coherence time of the NVs, showing outstanding promise for quantum technologies. For quantum computing applications, ESRs studied ultrapure diamond, showing that the spin coherence time of the laser formed single NVs within laser formed optical interconnects were maintained. For quantum sensing applications, ESRs studied diamond samples with a lower purity, which allowed for a higher number of NVs to boost the sensitivity and found preserved spin coherence time of the defects within laser formed photonics.
ESR Mohammed Sahnawaz Alam applied a sophisticated theoretical model to better understand the properties of quantum emitters within diamond waveguides. His theoretical work provided vital feedback in guiding experimental studies on the laser and ion beam fabrication of novel integrated and miniaturized quantum sensors in diamond led by ESRs Yanzhao Guo and Sajedeh Shahbazi. The laser and ion beam fabricated quantum sensors by the ESRs provided a robust platform for advanced quantum sensing applications.
