Welcome to the home page of Edward Laird & Andrew Briggs' group
See below for people in the group, positions available and group publications.
Our Research
We investigate electrical devices made from carbon nanomaterials, especially carbon nanotubes and single molecules.
Image: A hybrid molecular-nanoelectronic device featuring a carbon nanotube.
These systems are well-suited for exploring and exploiting quantum mechanics, in particular the key quantum phenomena of superposition and entanglement. Our experiments focus on making electron spin qubits, exploring quantum motion in vibrating carbon nanotubes, and looking for signatures of quantum interference in molecules.
Current through a carbon nanotube double quantum dot as a function of left and right gate voltages. This device can be used to trap single electrons or holes, which can then be used as qubits.
Our People
Group leaders:
Dr Edward Laird and Professor Andrew Briggs
Postdocs: Tian Pei, Jan Mol, Natalia Ares and (from February) Aquila Mavalankar.
Student: Greg Rogers
Alumni: Jonathan Willetts (Durham; intern August 2013), and An Chang (Tsinghua University; intern July-September 2013)
Edward Laird
Andrew Briggs
Positions Available
Postdocs
We are not currently advertising any postdoctoral positions. However, we are always interested to hear from strong prospective candidates, either for positions that may open soon or for independently funded postdoctoral fellowships.
Doctoral students
We plan to recruit one or two doctoral students per year. If you are interested in quantum technologies and fundamental physics, and motivated to carry out demanding experimental research, we want to hear from you!
For descriptions of some of our available projects, see the department’s postgraduate admissions page.
Undergraduate and Master’s research
The group welcomes enthusiastic and hard-working students from inside and outside Oxford for short research projects.
Prospective Part II students from within the department should consult the Part II webpage and make enquiries to the group leaders.
Prospective Master’s students, interns, exchange students and visitors should contact the group leaders to discuss possible projects.
Publications
Please see the following links for the recent publications of the group leaders: Edward Laird's page, Andrew Briggs' page.