Inside the Lab: IQST Early-Career Train­ing Visit @Heidelberg

As part of the Early-Career Train­ing Activ­it­ies suppor­ted by the IQST Gradu­ate School @QuantumBW, the IQST Visit @Heidelberg brought students and early-career research­ers to the European Insti­tute for Neuromorphic Comput­ing (EINC) for an after­noon of scientific exchange, hands-on train­ing, and networking. 

The visit opened with a series of scientific talks highlight­ing current research and innov­a­tion at the inter­face of quantum photonics and techno­logy. Contri­bu­tions included a present­a­tion on fiber-to-chip inter­con­nects and recon­fig­ur­able photonic circuits by J. Brandes, insights into super­con­duct­ing nanowire single-photon detect­ors and their applic­a­tions by S. Ferrari, and a startup-focused talk by R. Bankwitz from Linq Photonics, offer­ing perspect­ives on the trans­ition from academic research to entrepreneurship. 

A central element of the visit was the Pernice Lab tour, during which parti­cipants rotated through five hands-on stations featur­ing live demon­strat­ors. These covered integ­rated photonic device charac­ter­iz­a­tion, fiber taper­ing using a hydro­gen flame, charac­ter­iz­a­tion setups for super­con­duct­ing films and SNSPDs, active fiber-to-chip align­ment using a Finepla­cer system, and a convolution-based neuromorphic edge detec­tion system. The inter­act­ive format enabled direct exchange with research­ers and provided valuable insights into exper­i­mental techniques and infrastructures. 

The visit concluded with informal network­ing over refresh­ments, foster­ing discus­sions across discip­lines and institutions. 

IQST warmly thanks the Pernice Lab and the entire hosting team in Heidel­berg for their openness, excel­lent organ­iz­a­tion, and commit­ment to early-career training.