If a worker wants to do good work, they must first sharpen their tools.

Confucius, The Analects

Hardware

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR)

In the lab we perform electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy on solid-state spins using a modified Bruker EMX spectrometer (up to 1.3 Tesla) with custom-built cavities and EPR bridge for continuous, pulsed and transient EPR. There is optical access for laser photo-excitation via optical fibre.

The EPR spectrometer, with optical access for laser photo-excitation via optical fibre.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), optically-detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR)

An additional Bruker ECS spectrometer (up to 1 Tesla) is used for custom experiments such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), optically-detected magnetic resonance (ODMR), ferromagnetic resonance as well as EPR and maser experiments.

Quantum sensing

Using optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) we can probe smaller sample volumes, so the magnetic field homogeneity is less important, allowing us to use permanent magnets and Helmholtz coils.

Microwave cavities

We build state-of-the-art microwave resonators: from aperiodic Bragg-reflector (photonic crystal) cavities with Q-factors of over 650,000 (at 30 GHz and room-temperature) to dielectric resonators with optimized Purcell factors for use in masers, cavity quantum electrodynamics and magnetic resonance.

An aperiodic Bragg-reflector (photonic crystal) microwave cavity.

Software

To design microwave components (like cavities, resonators etc) we mostly use open-source software such as MEEP, in-house codes (mode matching) and occasionally commercial software (CST Microwave Studio and COMSOL).

During the course of our research we use a variety of programming languages, such as Python, Julia, Matlab, Mathematica, Fortran, C/C++, Scheme and Perl.