The frontier of information processing lies in nanoscience and nanotechnology research. At the nanoscale, materials, and structures can be engineered to exhibit interesting new properties, some based on quantum mechanical effects. Our research focuses on developing nanofabrication technology at the few-nanometer length scale. We use these technologies to push the envelope of what is possible with photonic and electrical devices, focusing in particular on superconductive and free-electron devices. Our research combines electrical engineering, physics, and materials science and helps extend the limits of nanoscale engineering.
The nanocryotron: A superconducting-nanowire three-terminal electrothermal device
Recent QNN News
New Publication “Detecting Sub-GeV Dark Matter with Superconducting Nanowires”
We propose the use of superconducting nanowires as both target and sensor for direct detection of sub-GeV dark matter. With excellent sensitivity to small energy deposits on electrons and demonstrated low dark counts, such devices could be used to probe electron...
New Publication “Investigation of ma-N 2400 series photoresist as an electron-beam resist for superconducting nanoscale devices”
Superconducting nanowire-based devices are increasingly being used in complex circuits for applications such as photon detection and amplification. To keep up with the growing circuit complexity, nanowire processing is moving from single layer fabrication to...
New Publication “Design of a Power Efficient Artificial Neuron Using Superconducting Nanowires”
With the rising societal demand for more information-processing capacity with lower power consumption, alternative architectures inspired by the parallelism and robustness of the human brain have recently emerged as possible solutions. In particular, spiking neural...
New Publication “Vanishing carrier-envelope-phase-sensitive response in optical-field photoemission from plasmonic nanoantennas”
At the surfaces of nanostructures, enhanced electric fields can drive optical-field photoemission and thereby generate and control electrical currents at frequencies exceeding 100 THz. A hallmark of such optical-field photoemission is the sensitivity of the total...
Emily Toomey awarded 3rd prize in the “Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts” contest
Congratulations to Emily for being awarded the 3rd prize in the "Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts" contest. Established in 1996, the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize is awarded each year to current MIT undergraduate and graduate students for excellence in a body of...