Hands-on Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy
Quantum Technology User Meeting 2022
From Charge Dynamics in Solids to Single-Molecule Spectroscopy with SPM
Interfaces: How They Make or Break a Nanodevice
A Fast and Integrated Qubit Control System: SHFQC Launch Event
Quantum Material Characterization for Streamlined Qubit Development
Best Practices in Sensor Characterization and Control
Qubit Control and Measurement Solutions
Virtual DLTS User Meeting 2021
How to Characterize Magnetic Materials Using Lock-in Amplifiers
Virtual SPM User Meeting 2021
The Next Generation of Qubit Control: SHFSG Launch Event
June 14th, 2022
Dino Klotz (dino.klotz@zhinst.com)
Magdalena Marszalek (magdalena.marszalek@zhinst.com)
Would you like to start impedance measurements, but don’t know how? Or do you already use impedance spectroscopy but would like to know more about theory and practice, while also learning some practical tips and tricks?
This webinar introduces the basics of impedance spectroscopy and related analysis, and gives practical hints to avoid common errors. It consists of a tutorial lecture followed by demonstrations showing how to configure a fault-free measurement and how to optimize your setup. This blog post offers a summary of the webinar and includes the presentation as well as the answers to the questions asked during the live event.
June 13th - 15th, 2022
Organized by Zurich Instruments and Rohde & Schwarz,
and hosted by Clemens Müller (clemens.mueller@zhinst.com)
Quantum technologies progress towards useful applications at a tremendous pace, with different technological platforms and approaches being explored. As key enablers of control and measurement solutions for quantum computing applications, Zurich Instruments and Rohde & Schwarz brought together researchers in quantum technologies working in different areas and facing distinct challenges but share core competencies and important know-how. Read Clemens' blog to learn more about this webinar.
April 28th, 2022
Romain Stomp (romain.stomp@zhinst.com)
In this video, Prof. Peter Grutter provides an overview of his current research aimed at developing ultrafast laser methods combined with AFM to gain a better understanding of charge dynamics at the molecular time and length scales. He then presents his most recent results on mechanically detecting single electrons for single-molecule spectroscopy. The outlook of his talk addresses plans to adapt these methods to elucidate the energetics of organic charge transfer systems as well as the quantum properties of single and coupled dopants in silicon. Following Prof. Grutter's talk, Application Scientist Romain Stomp illustrates how the discussed methods can be implemented with Zurich Instruments' rich toolbox. The answers to the questions asked during the live event are summarized in this blog post.
March 29th, 2022
Jelena Trbovic (jelena.trbovic@zhinst.com)
Heidi Potts (heidi.potts@zhinst.com)
As the size of electronic devices goes down to few nanometers, interfaces become increasingly relevant and often dominate and interfere with a device's performance. Hybrid devices are a particularly good example, because they rely on interfacing materials with different physical properties to control superconductivity, spin or other carrier characteristics in the active parts of the device. The performance of these structures depends critically on their reliable fabrication and interface characterization. In this webinar, Jelena Trbovic and Heidi Potts take you from general interface considerations to nanodevice characterization with lock-in amplifiers: you learn how to set up low-noise measurements and how to characterize devices on ultrafast timescales using RF reflectometry. The answers to the questions asked during the live event are summarized in this blog post.
March 3rd, 2022
Jan Benhelm (jan.benhelm@zhinst.com)
Tobias Thiele (tobias.thiele@zhinst.com)
Bruno Küng (bruno.kueng@zhinst.com)
In this video, Jan, Tobias and Bruno present the SHFQC Qubit Controller and discuss how this instrument can help speed up system tune-up and complex algorithm execution. The presentation includes practical demonstrations showing how to use the SHFQC to control, read out and perform fast feedback on up to 6 superconducting qubits with a single instrument, as well as a discussion of how the SHFQC can be integrated into larger qubit control systems. The answers to the questions asked during the live event are summarized in this blog post.
November 11th, 2021
Edward Kluender (edward.kluender@zhinst.com)
Jim Phillips (jim.phillips@zhinst.com)
Jelena Trbovic (jelena.trbovic@zhinst.com)
Clemens Müller (clemens.mueller@zhinst.com)
In this webinar, Ed, Jim, Jelena and Clemens look at how lock-in amplifiers offer a prime way to probe and understand material properties relevant for qubit coherence while keeping measurement times and complexity to a minimum. They discuss the basic working principles of semi- and superconducting qubits and demonstrate how to characterize frequency and loss fluctuations in readout resonators, as also summarized in this blog post.
November 9th, 2021
Kıvanç Esat (kivanc.esat@zhinst.com)
In this webinar, Kıvanç Esat is joined by Dr. Tomás Manzaneque García (TU Delft) to look into the best practices for the characterization of a sensor with lock-in amplifiers. Kıvanç and Tomás cover practical examples including mechanical micro-resonators and optomechanical systems, they show how to set up feedback controllers for maximal precision and review the existing trade-offs between open- and closed-loop operation. A summary of the answers to the questions asked during the live event can be found in this blog post.
September 23rd, 2021
Bruno Küng (bruno.kueng@zhinst.com)
Bruno Küng, Prof. Stefan Filipp (Technical University of Munich and Walther-Meißner Institute) and Max Werninghaus (Technical University of Munich) look at how the growing effort towards large-scale superconducting quantum computers calls for instruments giving access to established methods for qubit control and measurement with as little engineering overhead as possible. Prof. Filipp covers the basics of superconducting quantum computing, including recent advances in optimal control methods for maximizing qubit gate fidelity. Bruno presents how to design and operate a qubit control setup at microwave frequencies with a simple Python interface controlling the measurement instruments; Max Werninghaus carries out a hands-on demonstration of this setup on a real qubit.
July 8th, 2021
organized by Zurich Instruments
and hosted by Magdalena Marszalek (magdalena.marszalek@zhinst.com)
Deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) is a critical tool for the characterization of all forms of semiconductors. In this first edition of the DLTS User Meeting, Zurich Instruments brought together members of the DLTS community to foster knowledge exchange and networking through scientific talks discussing semiconductor defect characterization and the effects of radiation on III-V optoelectronic devices. Detailed tutorials also covered the study of transients and data acquisition. To read the answers to the questions asked during the live event, take a look at this blog post. To discuss your DLTS challenge, get in touch with Tim Ashworth (tim.ashworth@zhinst.com), Roberto Foddis (roberto.foddis@zhinst.com) or Meng Li (meng.li@zhinst.com).
June 29th, 2021
Jelena Trbovic (jelena.trbovic@zhinst.com)
Yury Bugoslavsky (Cryogenic Ltd)
In this webinar, Jelena Trbovic and Yury Bugoslavsky review the basics of magnetic materials and present characterization methods taking advantage of lock-in amplifiers. In particular, Jelena and Yury discuss how to distinguish between different types of magnetic materials using magnetization characterization techniques such as those based on the vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and AC susceptibility. They also look at how to ensure that lock-in measurements are performed correctly. This blog post offers a summary of the webinar and includes the answers to some of the questions asked during the live event.
May 20th, 2021
organized by Zurich Instruments
and hosted by Magdalena Marszalek (magdalena.marszalek@zhinst.com)
Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) offers many powerful techniques to image and control microscopic objects. In this fifth edition of the SPM User Meeting, Zurich Instruments brought together SPM enthusiasts to foster knowledge exchange and networking through scientific talks discussing the latest advances on how to image functional materials (such as perovskites, solar cells and ferroelectrics), through detailed tutorials and with a round table on Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). To discuss your SPM challenge, get in touch with Romain Stomp (romain.stomp@zhinst.com) and Mehdi Alem (mehdi.alem@zhinst.com).
April 29th, 2021
Jan Benhelm (jan.benhelm@zhinst.com)
Mark Kasperczyk (mark.kasperczyk@zhinst.com)
Bruno Küng (bruno.kueng@zhinst.com)
In this video, Jan, Mark and Bruno present the SHFSG Signal Generator and discuss how this instrument represents the next step for quantum computing control systems. The presentation includes practical demonstrations showing how to operate the instrument at 8.5 GHz without mixer calibration, how to maximize quantum gate fidelities thanks to high-purity signals, and how to control up to 8 superconducting or spin qubits per instrument. The answers to the questions asked during the live event are summarized in this blog post.