The Nobel prize 2022 was awarded to some of the giants on whose shoulders our work rests. They dared focusing on experiments to test the foundations of quantum physics when it was not yet considered to be serious research, and their work built the basis for the quantum technologies that have been emerging rapidly over the last decades. In particular, congratulations to Rainer’s PhD advisor Anton Zeilinger.

The European Union is currently preparing to implement the infrastructure for a Europe-wide network for quantum communication. To this purpose, research groups, industrial partners and government representatives from all European member states have devised projects to perform proof-of-principle demonstrations of quantum communication and quantum key distribution (QKD). To this end, quantum communication infrastructure will be implemented on the national level in all EU member states to later facilitate the inter-national connection of those networks. Our group and our faculty are integral parts of the Slovenian effort to implement such a quantum network, and we are confident that we will be able to begin implementing a Slovenian quantum network in autumn…

We just succeeded in locking a cavity to enhance the nonlinear second-harmonic generation (SHG) process in a periodically poled lithium niobate crystal. In this process, narrow-band 1310nm light is frequency doubled to 655nm light. This light will then pump a setup for generating narrow-band polarization-entangled photons via cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC).

Top view on the Silicon Carbide optical bench. To protect the mirrors from the dust and humidity, the cavity is enclosed by an aluminum tube. Four clamps press a viton sealing against the mirror substrate to minimize air leaks.

Welcome to the website for our research group! We only recently began filling the page with content. Return here to keep up to date with the developments in our group. The image shows a 3D rendering of the design of a prototype for the high-finesse cavity that will eventually form the center-piece of the optical bench of the MAQRO space mission. The baseplate is made from Silicon Carbide to provide optimal thermal stability at the cryogenic operating temperatures of MAQRO. All other components are made of fused silica. Light is coupled into and out of the cavity via a optical fibers. The light existing the fibers is focused into the…