Biography

Research Project: Single atom devices with controllable electrical and optical properties
Supervisors: Neil Curson (UCL), Steven Schofield (UCL)

Eleanor is using cryogenic scanning tunneling microscopy to isolate electrons for making qubits (quantum bits) for a quantum computer. This is why the ACM CDT should give Eleanor a head start, because she will learn about many other important techniques used in research labs worldwide. Having first completed an Electrical Engineering Master’s in Paris, Eleanor came to UCL to do a MSc in Nanotechnology last year. She was then motivated to look for the right PhD in experimental quantum physics to continue her research. A phosphorous atom has one more electron than a silicon one, so if a phosphorous atom is put inside a silicon lattice, there is an extra electron in the structure. This extra electron can have either an up or a down spin and can therefore be used to make a qubit (quantum bit). Eleanor’s PhD looks at ways of putting this single atom inside the silicon and keeping track of where it is.