Youngik Sohn
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology · Engineering
About the Lab
Professor Youngik Sohn's research lab specializes in quantum nanophotonics and hybrid quantum systems, focusing on the integration of solid-state quantum emitters—particularly silicon-vacancy color centers in diamond—with nanoscale photonic and phononic structures. The lab develops tunable, high-fidelity quantum devices for scalable quantum information processing, including photonic qubits, quantum networks, and phonon-mediated spin control. Key innovations include nanomechanical tuning of color centers, high-quality factor nanomechanical resonators, and monolithic integration of photonic components for fault-tolerant quantum technologies. The lab's work bridges fundamental quantum physics with practical device engineering for quantum communication and computing.
Research Overview
Research Output Trend
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Selected Papers
15Here, the authors tune the color of light emitted by single-atom imperfections (silicon vacancy color centers) inside a diamond. Such tunable imperfections can be networked together to build a quantum internet, where information can be securely exchanged using the laws of quantum physics. One problem is that all the centers need to emit at precisely the same color or wavelength. The authors overcome this challenge by placing color centers inside a diamond nanostring. By adjusting the tension in
Abstract Although holding great promise for low noise, ease of operation and networking 1 , useful photonic quantum computing has been precluded by the need for beyond-state-of-the-art components, manufactured by the millions 2–6 . Here we introduce a manufacturable platform 7 for quantum computing with photons. We benchmark a set of monolithically integrated silicon-photonics-based modules to generate, manipulate, network and detect heralded photonic qubits, demonstrating dual-rail photonic qub
Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) serving as universal interfaces are intriguing for hybrid systems with classical and quantum components. This study demonstrates a method for designing a high-quality SAW resonator using phononic band structure engineering. The SAW resonator presents a quality factor $Q$ > 104 at gigahertz frequencies, yielding a figure of merit (the product of frequency and $Q$) of 10${}^{13}$ at room temperature. Improvements in $Q$ at cryogenic temperatures are also observed.
Photon-mediated coupling between distant matter qubits may enable secure communication over long distances, the implementation of distributed quantum computing schemes, and the exploration of new regimes of many-body quantum dynamics. Solid-state quantum emitters coupled to nanophotonic devices represent a promising approach towards these goals, as they combine strong lightmatter interaction and high photon collection efficiencies. However, nanostructured environments introduce mismatch and diff
Freestanding nanostructures play an important role in optical and mechanical devices for classical and quantum applications. Here, we use reactive ion beam angled etching to fabricate optical resonators in bulk polycrystalline and single crystal diamond. Reported quality factors are approximately 30 000 and 286 000, respectively. The devices show uniformity across 25 mm samples, a significant improvement over comparable techniques yielding freestanding nanostructures.
Abstract Phonons are considered to be universal quantum transducers due to their ability to couple to a wide variety of quantum systems. Among these systems, solid-state point defect spins are known for being long-lived optically accessible quantum memories. Recently, it has been shown that inversion-symmetric defects in diamond, such as the negatively charged silicon vacancy center (SiV), feature spin qubits that are highly susceptible to strain. Here, we leverage this strain response to achiev
For many emerging optoelectronic materials, heteroepitaxial growth techniques do not offer the same high material quality afforded by bulk, single-crystal growth. However, the need for optical, electrical, or mechanical isolation at the nanoscale level often necessitates the use of a dissimilar substrate, upon which the active device layer stands. Faraday cage angled-etching (FCAE) obviates the need for these planar, thin-film technologies by enabling in situ device release and isolation through
They say no two are alike\dots{} Inversion-symmetric fluorescent color centers in diamonds, such as the germanium vacancy, are desirable for solid-state single-photon emitters in integrated quantum systems, but their complex mesoscopic environments make it challenging to obtain multiple $i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}d\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}e\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}n\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}t\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}c\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}a\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}l$ emitters. These
Single-crystal diamond nanomechanical resonators are being developed for countless applications. A number of these applications require that the resonator be operated in a fluid, that is, a gas or a liquid. Here, we investigate the fluid dynamics of single-crystal diamond nanomechanical resonators in the form of nanocantilevers. First, we measure the pressure-dependent dissipation of diamond nanocantilevers with different linear dimensions and frequencies in three gases, He, N2, and Ar. We obser
Whilst holding great promise for low noise, ease of operation and networking, useful photonic quantum computing has been precluded by the need for beyond-state-of-the-art components, manufactured by the millions. Here we introduce a manufacturable platform for quantum computing with photons. We benchmark a set of monolithically-integrated silicon photonics-based modules to generate, manipulate, network, and detect photonic qubits, demonstrating dual-rail photonic qubits with $99.98\% \pm 0.01\%$
We demonstrate actuation of a silicon photonic crystal membrane with a repulsive optical gradient force. The extent of the static actuation is extracted by examining the optical bistability as a combination of the optomechanical, thermo-optic, and photo-thermo-mechanical effects using coupled-mode theory. Device behavior is dominated by a repulsive optical force which results in displacements of ≈1 nm/mW. By employing an extended guided resonance which effectively eliminates multi-photon thermal
Single-crystal α-quartz, one of the most widely used piezoelectric materials, has enabled a wide range of timing applications. Owing to the fact that an integrated thin-film based quartz platform is not available, most of these applications rely on macroscopic, bulk crystal-based devices. Here, we show that the Faraday cage angled-etching technique can be used to realize nanoscale electromechanical and photonic devices in quartz. Using this approach, we demonstrate quartz nanomechanical cantilev
Advanced photonic integrated circuits require large-scale integration of high-speed electro-optic (EO) functional components on a chip. Low power consumption and high operation speed are thus key metrics for almost all integrated EO devices. Here, we demonstrated a ring resonator modulator based on lead zirconate titanate (PZT) on a SiO2/Si substrate. The ridge waveguides were employed to keep a large spatial overlap between the optical field and the electric field within the PZT layer. The devi
We present a programmable silicon photonic four-qubit integrated circuit for the generation and manipulation of diverse quantum states. The silicon photonic chip integrates photon-pair sources, pump-reducing filters, wavelength-division-multiplexing filters, Mach–Zehnder interferometer switches, and single-qubit arbitrary gates, enabling versatile state preparation and tomography. We measure Hong–Ou–Mandel interference with an impressive 98% visibility using four-photon coincidence, laying the f
Research Areas
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