IISc Quantum Technology Initiative (IQTI)

VISION DOCUMENT

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 IISc Quantum Technology Initiative (IQTI)

1. Background
Attempts to understand a variety of phenomena observed at the atomic scale led to the formulation
of quantum physics in the early part of the twentieth century. That allowed us to understand how
properties of bulk materials arise from their quantum origin, and subsequent harnessing of these
properties produced technological applications, such as semiconductors, superconductors and
lasers, in the second half of the twentieth century. These applications have made an enormous
impact on society, and without them ubiquitous electronic gadgets, computers, mobile phones and
internet would be unthinkable. Nowadays, this breakthrough is referred to as the first quantum
revolution. It has been incessantly driven and sustained by miniaturization of the elementary device
components. In the process, technological developments reached such a stage towards the end of
twentieth century that it has become possible to control and manipulate individual quantum
degrees of freedom. The paradigm shift from observation to control has opened a new door, and
what we can achieve with such capabilities is dubbed the second quantum revolution. It aims to
make novel quantum devices that would make essential use of quantum properties (such as
superposition, entanglement, squeezing and tunneling of quantum states) in their function.
The building blocks of these quantum devices are fundamental physical objects---spins, atoms and
photons, generically described as qubits. They can be put together in many different ways to
construct sensors and measurement devices, communication systems, computers as well as some
other unimagined future applications. The ongoing attempts worldwide, focused on construction of
customized quantum systems and materials, are directed towards bringing transformative advances
in science, economy and society. They envisage orders of magnitude enhancement in the precision
of sensors and metrological instruments, strategies for secure communications that would herald
the arrival of a quantum internet, quantum computers that can tackle computationally hard
problems, and disruptive advances in imaging and energy manipulation techniques.
India did not invest sufficiently in the first quantum revolution and is dependent on other nations for
the modern electronic gadgets. India also has been a late entrant in the race for the second quantum
revolution. But the immense potential of quantum technologies to give rise to transformative
applications has been recognized, and the Government of India announced the “National Mission on
Quantum Technologies and Applications (NM-QTA)” in 2020. The mission aims to lay a solid
foundation in the field of quantum technologies by supporting fundamental and translational
research, leading to the invention of new products, services, and the creation of a skilled human
resource. While NM-QTA desires to catapult India to the midst of the second quantum revolution,

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limitations in the existing expertise and facilities available in India pose significant constraints on its
advancement.
The Indian Institute of Science aspires to deploy a dedicated effort to address these challenges, by
establishing a framework to promote collaborations between physicists, material scientists,
computer scientists and engineers. IISc, being the key institute instrumental in helping India develop
past strategic missions (Indian nuclear technology and space technology programs were conceived
and nurtured at IISc), has a multi-disciplinary research faculty with an interest in quantum science
and technologies. Prior to the present interest in quantum technologies, IISc has played a pioneering
role in the country, for efforts to become self-reliant in areas of Condensed Matter Physics,
Nanoelectronics and Nanoscience. Recently, with funding support from the Ministry of Electronics
and Information Technology, IISc has established a multi-disciplinary Center for Excellence in
Quantum Technology, in collaboration with the Raman Research Institute (RRI) and the Centre for
Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), to deliver quantum-enhanced technologies.

2. Vision
Worldwide, developments in quantum technology show the following trends: (a) Practical
applications are expected to appear first in sensing and metrology (already happening), then in
communications and simulations (on the verge of happening), then as feedback to foundations of
quantum theory, and ultimately in quantum computing. The number of physical qubits in a quantum
device is approximately doubling every year, which exceeds the Moore’s law often used to
characterize progress in traditional electronics. (b) Conventional classical technologies are
simultaneously improving as well. They can compete with and counteract quantum technologies in
hostile situations, where the latter would be highly fragile. The very principles that promise
potentialities of quantum technologies in cooperative settings, also expose their limitations.
Addressing both these aspects together is crucial.
In this context, IISc is launching its quantum technologies initiative, IQTI, to participate in and
contribute to the national initiative and strategic demands, and to achieve technology readiness at
par with international programs. It will leverage the Institute’s research expertise in the area of
quantum technologies, and at the same time, form a visionary research and development platform
through national and international collaborations. We envisage this initiative not to be just academic
science; it would actively engage with industry and strategic partners to create technology with
economic benefits and social impact. IQTI would use the well-established academia-industry
interface of IISc to establish a vibrant start-up culture and ecosystem, in order to convert the
promises of fundamental research into entrepreneurial activities for product development.
The multi-disciplinary nature of the ongoing R&D in IISc fits seamlessly in the requirement of
quantum technology development, from core hardware and back-end engineering support to
algorithms for cryptography and machine learning. IISc intends to build on-field deployable systems

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for quantum-enhanced performance, as well as explore new fundamental and engineering routes for
disruptive quantum applications.
The multifaceted collaborative efforts of IQTI will target the following areas:
1. Core quantum technology:
(a) Quantum computation
(b) Quantum communication
(c) Quantum sensing and metrology
2. Theoretical and modelling support:
(a) Quantum and quantum-inspired algorithms, Software simulators
(b) Quantum information theory and error correction
(c) Quantum cryptography and post-quantum cryptography
3. Peripheral technology development:
(a) Quantum materials: Discovery, modeling and design
(b) Quantum materials: Device technology

3. Objectives
The aim of IQTI is to enable the promise of quantum science and technology, by operating in sync
with the global developments in this field. Although this is an open-ended expedition in many
aspects, it requires clarity for short-term goals and a vision for long-term targets. Anticipating an
inclusive, sustained and globally competitive growth, some of the short-term and long-term
objectives of IQTI are the following:
Short term aims: (0–3 years)
1. Reliable and high-fidelity elementary quantum components (e.g. individual qubits, single-
photon sources, single-photon detectors, NV-center magnetometers, waveguide interferometers).
2. 8-qubit quantum processor with superconducting transmon technology.
3. Software simulators to verify and validate noisy quantum devices.
4. Quantum-inspired algorithms that can be executed on existing computers and devices (e.g.
randomized algorithms, recommendation systems, generative adversarial networks, amplitude
amplification with wave dynamics, post-quantum cryptography).
5. Peripheral devices (electronics and nanotechnology) to interact with quantum components,
incorporating efficient hybridization techniques.
6. Novel materials and architectures (e.g. layered devices).
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7. On-field trials, reliability testing, packaging etc. of viable peripheral and quantum-enhanced
components.
8. Infrastructure development for large scale semiconductor and device processing needed for
quantum applications (e.g. back-end electronics, and photonics).
9. Introduction of MTech and PhD programs specializing in Quantum Technology.
Longer term aims: (4-6 years)
1. Improve the accuracy of all the short-term targets achieved.
2. Multi-qubit quantum processors based on transmons, optical and other platforms. Especially,
scaling up of the number of qubits in the superconducting transmon processor.
3. Campus-wide quantum-secured communication network.
4. High precision sensors, measurement devices and transducers. They will include
magnetometry at ~fT/Hz1/2 resolution with NV-centers, nano-g inertial sensing with cold atoms and
trapped ions, and so on.
5. Hardware simulation of few-body quantum systems (e.g. molecular chemistry and biology,
physics models, material design).
6. Creation of new devices by integrating elementary components.
7. Quantum illumination and imaging (LiDAR) at lab scale.
Within each of these focus areas, IQTI will steer
1. Basic research at both experimental and theoretical levels.
2. Translational research in emerging technologies for the market.
3. A national and international quantum research network through visitors’ program. That would
also introduce dedicated adjunct faculty positions, named chair professorships, industry affiliated
positions etc.
4. Directed research through strategic partnerships to address problems of national interest.
5. Establishment of facilities for quantum device fabrication, testing and characterization.
6. Training and capacity building for the next generation of scientists, engineers, technicians and
technocrats.
7. Research collaborations, meetings and knowledge exchange with leading domestic and
international institutions.
8. Industrial collaborations and entrepreneurship development.

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4. Organizational Capacity
4a. Academic Strength and Research Interests of IISc
IISc’s strength is the breadth of its existing technical expertise, and ability to adopt and rapidly
develop new expertise covering a wide spectrum from basic sciences to engineering and technology.
Academic strength:
The on-going quantum technology centric activities in IISc can be broadly categorized as below:
1. Core quantum technology
- Quantum computation: Building and bench-marking multi-qubit processors with
superconducting transmon qubits (In progress through funding from Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology).
- Quantum communication: Development of photonic technology components and their on-
chip integration for quantum communication, with the aim to demonstrate prototype quantum
network within the Institute (In progress through funding from Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology).
- Quantum sensing and metrology: Quantum-enhanced sensors of electric and magnetic fields
using NV-centers in diamond, integrated photonics for quantum sensing and imaging applications,
interferometric devices to assist inertial navigation.
- Quantum materials and devices: Development of platforms for new qubit architectures,
quantum emitters in patterned layered materials, single photon detectors using van der Waals
heterostructures and superconductors, quantum-enhanced fibre optic channels etc.
2. Theoretical and modelling support
- Quantum computing and communication algorithms.
- Quantum-inspired algorithms for data analysis and logistics problems.
- Emulation of quantum logic circuits and measurement, Simulators of noisy quantum devices.
- Quantum error correction, quantum cryptographic protocols.
- Post-quantum cryptography.
- Quantum reinforcement learning and machine learning.
- Modelling and prediction of quantum materials.
3. Peripheral technology development and engineering backup
- Exploring and improving material synthesis and characterization for applications in all
verticals of quantum technology.
- Device engineering, technology development and optimization to improve the coherence time
and the gate fidelity of spin, photonic and transmon qubits.

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- Microwave and radio frequency engineering design. Architectures for microwave antenna and
radio frequency communications.
- Engineering of novel photonic architectures, coupled with emerging material synthesis, for
high sensitivity ultra-fast optical sensing.
- Reliable technology for chip and system level integration of quantum components (packaging,
thermal stability, EMI, variability control).
- Low temperature control electronics and measurement platforms.
- Heterogeneous integration of classical, neuromorphic and quantum technologies.
Research Interests:
A) Fundamental quantum technology

Superconducting transmon qubits: At present, the leading technology for building a quantum
computer is based on transmon qubits in the circuit-QED architecture. Stable qubits with good
control and coherence times have been demonstrated. Several groups around the world are
constructing systems of 10 - 50 physical qubits. Challenge is the integration of individual components
while keeping errors under control. With a basic set-up, single transmon qubits have been fabricated
at IISc. We would like to expand this to multi-qubit systems, simultaneously developing packaging
and DC/RF wiring configurations for cryogenic large-density architectures.
[Vibhor Singh (PH), Baladitya Suri (IAP), Chetan Singh Thakur (DESE)]

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Photonic quantum processor:

Photons can carry quantum information in their

polarization, space and time/phase degrees of
freedom, and can be made to interact in nonlinear
materials and waveguides. An on-chip photonic
quantum platform operating at room
temperature can be put together using emitters
with controllable photon number and photon
number resolving detectors. As identical particles,
photons can demonstrate quantum supremacy in
the boson sampling problem. They can be
prepared in magic states, which are the starting
point for distributed measurement-based
computing and creation of multi-partite
entanglement.

[Jaydeep Basu (PH), Shankar Kumar Selvaraja

(CeNSE)]

Single photon sources: Heralded photon sources, providing on-demand entangled photons, are
crucial ingredients for quantum communications and quantum random number generation. Such
photons have to be generated and filtered on-chip with high conversion efficiency, in telecom as well
as optical frequency range. Point defects in layered materials and semiconductor heterostructures
are being explored as promising nonlinear dielectric materials for this purpose.
[Shankar Kumar Selvaraja (CeNSE), Anshu Pandey (SSCU)]

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Single photon detectors: van der Waals hybrids of graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides
are extremely responsive to optical excitations. They can be used to construct photon number
resolving detectors, which are essential for quantum measurements and quantum communications.
They can be part of precise nanoscale electromechanical sensors, ultra-fast bolometers and qubit
readout schemes as well. The basic low temperature nanoelectronics facilities exist at IISc.
[Arindam Ghosh (PH), Kausik Majumdar (ECE)]

Quantum communications: Quantum sources and detectors need to be coupled to communication

channels (either fiber based or free space) through necessary photonics and electronics. The
components (waveguides, couplers, relays, ring resonators etc.) must preserve quantum coherence
and match frequency during signal processing. Error correction protocols are essential to eliminate
the noise that may enter during signal conversion between different components. A campus-wide
low loss communication network with integrated photonic devices is being designed to demonstrate
quantum key distribution and teleportation.
[Varun Raghunathan (ECE), Asha Bharadwaj (IAP), T. Srinivas (ECE), Shayan Srinivasa Garani (DESE)]

Colour defects in diamond: Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are highly sensitive and
robust magnetometers. They can be hyperpolarized and integrated with motile colloids. When
combined with well-established magnetic resonance imaging methods for electron spins, they can
have wide-ranging applications---from industrial to medical ones. Silicon vacancy centres in
diamond have high coherence and can help in forming quantum memories.
[Ambarish Ghosh (CeNSE)]

Quantum Sensing/Metrology:
Quantum metrology looks at ways to leverage
the rules of quantum mechanics to improve
measurement sensitivity, in order to detect tiny
changes in physical observables. There is
enormous interest in utilizing entanglement,
squeezing and nonlinearities of quantum
dynamics to improve measurement sensitivity
significantly beyond what the classical systems
permit. Sensitive qubits can be prepared and
carefully positioned in two-dimensional
transition metal chalcogenides and related
semiconductors.
Measurement and characterization of their fundamental dynamics can improve photon signal
sensitivity and thermometry by orders of magnitude.

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[Akshay Singh (PH), Arindam Ghosh (PH), Kausik Majumdar (ECE)]

Hybrid quantum systems: Recent advances in quantum computing and measurements amply
demonstrate the utility of tapping into hybrid systems that leverage the advantages of two of more
types of systems. These systems would include coherent acoustic oscillators that interface qubits
and communication systems, mechanical resonators that can function as quantum memory,
electrons trapped in nanobubbles near liquid helium surface, and quantum sensors coupled to
nanodevices.
[Vibhor Singh (PH), Akshay Naik (CeNSE), Ambarish Ghosh (CeNSE)]

Quantum devices using 2D materials: Layered 2D materials and heterostructures of 2D-3D

materials offer a variety of possibilities to explore quantum devices. They span spin, charge and
excitonic valley qubits, designs for transmon qubits and Josephson junctions, single photon emitters
and detectors, and so on. Engineering challenges for large area fabrication, reliability, contact
resistance, etc. need to be overcome.
[Arindam Ghosh (PH), Kausik Majumdar (ECE), Mayank Shrivastava (DESE)]

B) Theory, computation and software

Quantum algorithms: First generation quantum computers will be moderately sized and error-
prone (not fault-tolerant). Demonstration of quantum supremacy with them requires finding
suitable problems and solution strategies superior to their classical counterparts. Variational
methods and universality properties of physical systems are useful ingredients in this search.
Methods to verify the quantum results, without relying on classical cross-checks, are needed as well.
[Apoorva Patel (CHEP)]

Quantum simulations: First non-trivial applications of quantum computers are likely to be in direct
simulations of models of quantum statistical mechanics, quantum field theory and molecular
chemistry. Efficient techniques for these need to be developed, which have polynomial
computational complexity with respect to both the input and the output number of bits.
[Apoorva Patel (CHEP), Rahul Pandit (PH)]

Quantum simulators: All quantum devices will be noisy and imperfect due to unavoidable
environmental disturbances. They will need verification and validation of their performance. For
systems of 10-20 qubits, the consequences of specific noises and imperfections can be estimated
using their classical simulators, and that can help in improving the design and reliability of quantum
devices.
[Apoorva Patel (CHEP)]

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Quantum error correction and information theory: Error correction protocols are essential to
eliminate the noise that may enter at any stage of quantum information processing. They are also
needed to protect signal conversion between different components, to deal with occasional
component failure, and to protect distributed quantum correlations over networks. Quantum
information theory provides the framework to quantify capabilities of quantum channels and to
design error correction codes. The fault-tolerant design strategy requires an error rate below a
specific threshold and sufficient redundancy to guard against local disturbances. Graph-state
analysis can provide efficient codes that safeguard multi-party entanglement and communications,
against eavesdropping and node failure. Quantum algebraic codes over qubit/qudit states with
entanglement-assistance can provide superior performance than without it.
[Shayan Srinivasa Garani (DESE), Navin Kashyap (ECE), Vinod Sharma (ECE)]

Open quantum systems: Identification of dominant environmental errors, and methods to suppress
them, require careful modelling of quantum devices. The control and measurement components
also bring in noise, and identification of decoherence-free subspaces that avoid noise is important.
Models and algorithms need to be developed for noise-aware optimal control, fidelity estimation and
error mitigation. Stochastic differential equations provide a useful framework, and the methods can
mimic those followed in VLSI design and simulations.
[Soumyendu Raha (CDS), Soumitra K. Nandy (CDS)]

Post-quantum cryptography: Public key cryptographic systems, such as RSA, are vulnerable to
quantum computers. New classical communication protocols that would be resistant to quantum
attackers are being developed, such as lattice codes, multi-variate polynomials over finite fields and
isogeny computation over elliptic curves. Rigorous cryptanalysis for quantum-safe key agreements
and signatures is under investigation.
[Sanjit Chatterjee (CSA)]

Quantum-inspired algorithms: Discoveries of efficient quantum algorithms have taught us to look

at classical solutions to the same problems from a new perspective, leading to improved classical
algorithms. Examples are randomized algorithms for optimization problems, spanning widely
disparate areas such as recommendation systems, transport logistics and financial markets. These
solutions have huge technological potential because they can be deployed with existing hardware.
Yet another possibility is to exploit classical wave dynamics in amplitude amplification tasks, with
applications to energy transfer and catalysis.
[Apoorva Patel (CHEP)]

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Quantum-enhanced analysis methods: Machine-learning and artificial intelligence have become
popular in problems analyzing immense quantities of data. They rely on clever combinations of
multiple feature-identifying signals to identify the target objects. Quantum-enhanced methods
would extend these to situations, where multiple signals do not merely add but can interfere
constructively as well as destructively. Their applications can range from analysis of experimental
data, images and communications to astrophysical and genome studies.
[Chiranjib Bhattacharyya (CSA), Apoorva Patel (CHEP), Sudhir Vempati (CHEP)]

C) Materials technology and engineering

The synthesis of materials, and the ability to precisely control and manipulate their properties, will
play a major role in the next generation of quantum systems. IISc already has world-leading expertise
in growth of 2D materials, heterostructures, oxides and other high-quality materials. This expertise
will be leveraged to develop quantum materials with defect centres in ultra-pure materials,
topological insulators, layered materials as well as heterogenous and designer materials. These
quantum materials would be the precursors to developing a variety of quantum devices.

Discovery of new materials: Novel materials

such as quantum defects with high spin-
photon coupling, semiconductors with ultra-
high thermal conductivity, heterostructures for
quantum electronics and low-noise amplifiers,
materials that suitably couple spin, phonon
and electronic transport, are important
targets. The Mott transitions in perovskite
oxides, for example, can be used as trigger in
new generation of high-performance
bolometers for microwave and infra-red
detection. Such materials need to be first
designed with simulations, then synthesized
and finally characterized by spectroscopy and
electron microscopy, before incorporation in
practical devices.
[Abhishek Singh (MRC), Navaneetha
Ravichandran (ME), Pavan Nukala (CeNSE),
Vivek Tiwari (SSCU), Srimanta Middey (PH)]

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Topological materials: These can lead to noise-resistant quantum devices. Candidates being
investigated are: Ferroelectric thin films that can accommodate skyrmions and vortices, materials
simultaneously displaying spin Hall effect and superconductivity, frustrated spin liquids and Kitaev
spin liquids that can possess Majorana excitations, and chiral Weyl materials.
[Pavan Nukala (CeNSE), Chandni U. (IAP), Srimanta Middey (PH), S.A. Shivashankar (CeNSE)]

Quantum thermodynamic systems: van der Waals heterostructures can be used to make quantum
batteries and supercapacitors with small leakage, which are needed for high-speed electronics.
MEMS/NEMS resonators can be designed to reach quantum limit of energy loss.
[Abha Misra (IAP), Saurabh Chandorkar (CeNSE)]

Optomechanical systems: In addition to electronic control, optomechanical systems have the

advantage of being systems that can be easily coupled to different quantum systems including spins,
photons and transmon qubits. In a large complex network of quantum systems, these mechanical or
acoustic systems can play a major role as quantum memory, isolators, transducers and couplers of
qubits and communication systems.
[Vibhor Singh (PH), Akshay Naik (CeNSE)]

Quantum memory: Electromagnetically induced transparency in optomechanical systems can be

used to store information in mechanical modes of resonators. Multiferroic materials can be used for
sensors and new types of memory.
[Akshay Naik (CeNSE), S.A. Shivashankar (CeNSE)]

Quantum system design: Many-body localization in disordered systems resists thermalization and
decoherence. An understanding of their dephasing mechanisms can help improve the performance
of quantum memory and sensors.
[Subroto Mukerjee (PH), Sumilan Banerjee (PH)]

Neuromorphic devices: Quantum computers will not be very efficient in solving several
computational problems that can be easily addressed by von Neumann and neuromorphic
architectures. They are therefore expected to be special purpose devices that would complement
other forms of computing rather than replace them. So, it has been projected that future computing
systems would consist of all the three forms, thereby requiring heterogeneous integration of qubits,
bits and neurons. A technology platform that can cater to all the three forms of computing is needed.
2D materials offer one such platform, and IISc faculty has years of experience in developing devices
and technology modules based on 2D devices.
[Chetan Singh Thakur (DESE), Arindam Ghosh (PH)]

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Quantum dot based devices: Portable, power-free, cost-effective and eco-friendly devices can be
made for detection and estimation of toxic elements in water. Nanoelectroactuation using graphene
quantum dots can be used to guide stem cell functionality.
[Bikramjit Basu (MRC)]

Engineering and technological challenges: Overcoming these is going to be a key step that would
translate science into practical technology. The efforts will include device design and engineering
approaches to improve the coherence time and gate fidelity of various types of qubits, and efficient
microwave engineering for creating multi-qubit entanglement while suppressing crosstalk.

Technology platforms for mK electronics and on-chip quantum control electronics: Control
electronics in recently demonstrated quantum computers is forced to be far away from the qubits,
because the superconducting transmon qubits operating at a few mK temperatures are kept inside
a dilution refrigerator, whereas the control electronics is in a room temperature setup. This
separation causes loss of gate fidelity, integration challenges, interferences and errors. A quantum
computer designed for any practical purpose cannot afford such an operation. The problem can be
addressed by bringing the control electronics next to the qubits, with a possibility to have the qubits
and the control electronics on the same chip. That needs development of a technology platform for
ultra-low temperature electronics.

System integration: To ensure reliable integration of components at the chip and system level,
expertise is required in chip packaging, thermal design and management, electromagnetic shielding,
as well as control over device and process variability.

4b. Existing Facilities & Infrastructure

National Nanofabrication Centre (NnfC):
The National Nanofabrication Centre has a 14,000 ft2 clean-room facility with capability for:
• Photolithography with resolution of 1 µm for optical and 10 nm for e-beam lithography.
• Developing unit processes for chemical & physical vapour deposition (CVD) of most commonly
used semiconductors and dielectrics, such as Si, SiGe, Ge, SiO2, SiNx, Al2O3, TiO2, etc.
• Developing unit processes for wet and dry etching of most commonly used semiconductors
and dielectrics.
• Fabricating complete MEMS sensors, gas sensors, GaN HEMTs, Si solar cells, novel 1D and 2D
devices including graphene and MoS2, and photonic circuits.

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• Developing new and customized processes for MEMS/NEMS devices, microfluidic structures,
and semiconductor devices for industries and other laboratories.
• A new ultra-high vacuum sputtering unit and a reactive ion etching unit for quantum devices.
• Inline characterization using various metrology tools.

Micro and Nano Characterization Facility (MNCF):

The one of its kind micro and nano characterization facility (MNCF) aims to be a one stop solution for
all characterization needs of any nanofabrication process. It is rare to find such a comprehensive
array of tools under a single roof, anywhere in the world. Capabilities include:
• Complete electrical characterization of devices
from DC to 110 Mhz, and at 4K to 400K
temperature, using an array of probe stations
and parameter analysers.
• Ability to characterize RF devices upto 70 GHz.
• Ability to measure power conversion efficiency
and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of
solar cells.
• Metrology of thin films using optical
profilometer, acoustic microscopy and
atomic force microscope (AFM), including
advanced modes such as piezo response,
conductive, magnetic-force, scanning-
tunnelling atomic force microscopy, etc.

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 • Comprehensive characterization of bulk materials and thin films using Raman spectrometry,
photoluminescence (PL), electroluminescence (EL), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry
(FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray reflection (XRR), photoemission spectrometry (UPS and
XPS), and UV-Visible spectrometery.
• Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) with dual beam focused ion-beam (FIB),
EDS and monochrometer (MonoCL), TEM.

Other facilities (distributed across different groups):

• Low temperature (4K) confocal Raman/PL setup for measurements with different excitation
wavelengths (2 Nos: one with DC ports, and one with DC and RF ports).
• Low temperature (7K) electrical probe station for electrical/optoelectronic measurement of
devices.
• Single photon level detection and correlation system consisting of timing electronics and
single photon detectors.
• CCD camera having single photon detection capability.
• Low temperature (4K) confocal pulse (few 100 ns) Raman/PL setup with different excitation
wavelengths.
• Set- up for thermal mapping with 50 ns time resolution and 500 nm spatial resolution. It can be
mounted over any probe station as well as over an ultra-low vibration CC-LHe cryostat (in the same
lab).
• Deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) set-up to study deep level defects in quantum
materials.
• Fully automated RF (0–70 GHz) probe station.
• Semi-automated L-N2 probe station with RF (up to 4 GHz) capability.
• Room temperature STM, SCM, CFM, SSRM, SThM & KpFM.
• Lock-in amplifier based set-ups for 1/f noise and thermal characterizations.
• Glove-box based set-up for 2D material device engineering (having integrated thermal
evaporator, stamping stage with high resolution microscope and another dark field microscope with
high magnification.
• Dilution fridge 10 mK with suitable microwave cabling, and related RF electronics such as
Vector Network Analysers, signal generators, Arbitrary Waveform Generators, Digitiser, Scope.

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• Another station for superconducting qubit (up to six) characterization and measurement is
expected to be ready by April 2021.
• Low temperature (15 mK) dilution refrigerator system for electrical and thermal transport and
noise measurements in field effect devices, single crystals and thin films.
• Variable temperature optoelectronic measurement set-up for single photons in magnetic field.
• Material and device engineering set-up with 2D materials for studying novel superconductors,
structural and topological phases, which may be useful in quantum communications as well as novel
qubit platforms.

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5. Team
5a. Investigators
Name Profile

Apoorva D. Patel is a Professor at the Centre for High Energy

Physics, IISc. He is notable for his work on quantum
algorithms, and the application of information
theory concepts to understand the structure
of genetic languages. His major field of work has been the
theory of quantum chromodynamics, where he has
used lattice gauge theory techniques to investigate spectral
properties, phase transitions, and matrix elements.
Apoorva Patel

Arindam Ghosh is an experimental condensed matter

physicist and a Professor in the Department of Physics, IISc. His
research group is involved in investigating structural, electrical
and magnetic properties of various nanoscale systems. His
research interests extend from fundamental quantum
mechanical effects on charge and spin states in nanosystems,
to carbon-based electronics, critical behavior in smart
materials, to new schemes of sensing with nano/micro-
Arindam Ghosh electromechanical sensors.

Abha Misra is an Associate Professor at the Department of

Instrumentation and Applied Physics. Her group works on
various aspects of nano and micro systems to study interfaces
between different physical phenomena at nanoscale.
Multidimensional carbon lattices including graphene, carbon
nanotubes and quantum dots are being investigated for
optoelectronic, gas sensing, self-powered as well as actuation
devices at large scale. The device design paradigm is
established through bio mimicking of natural systems for self-
sustained network where two-dimensional van der Waals
interfaces are largely utilized for spontaneous conduction
Abha Misra
mechanism.

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 Abhishek Singh is an Associate Professor at the Material
Research Centre, IISc. His research interests include quantum
ab-initio theory for real materials, machine learning and
material database generation, hydrogen generation and
storage, mechanical, structural, electronic, and magnetic
properties of nanostructures, theory of defects, impurities,
doping and diffusion in bulk and reduced dimensional
systems, thermal and electrical transport and quasiparticle
and optical excitations. His group has found several ultra-low
Abhishek Singh and ultra-high lattice thermal conductivity materials and
developed a ML model to predict thermal conductivity of a
large class of materials using physics driven four parameters.

Akshay Naik is an Associate Professor at the Centre for

Nanoscience and Engineering, IISc. He conducts research in
the areas of nano electromechanical systems, nonlinear
dynamics, MEMS and NEMS sensors, and quantum
measurements. His group has demonstrated the use of
mechanical nanoresonator to enhance or reduce the energy
exchange between the vibrational modes and the suitability of
metallic carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as thermo-optic tuners.

Akshay Naik

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 Akshay Singh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of
Physics, IISc. His lab uses a variety of optical and electron
spectroscopy tools to characterize synthesized and naturally
occurring materials. The group focuses on the measurement of
fundamental dynamics, to discover new physical phenomena,
and synthesize non-naturally occurring materials leading to
advances in opto-electronics and quantum computing.

Akshay Singh

Ambarish Ghosh is a Professor at the Centre for Nanoscience

and Engineering, IISc. He is known for his contributions
on nanorobots, active matter physics, plasmonics, and
metamaterials. His group has wide interests in studying light-
matter interactions in novel nanoscale systems, ranging from
electron bubbles in superfluid helium to helical
nanoplasmonic devices, and magnetic nano-propellers.

Ambarish Ghosh

Anshu Pandey is an Associate Professor at the Solid State and

Structural Chemistry Unit, IISc. His research is aimed at
understanding new physical properties that emerge in
nanoscale matter. His group recently demonstrated ground
state charge transfer between semiconductor nanocrystals,
leading to the formation of “compounds” where individual
quantum dots take the place of atoms. Yet other efforts in his
lab are devoted to the development of semiconductors
composed of earth abundant non-toxic elements, novel
Anshu Pandey methods of synthesis and building materials with unusual
properties.

20
 Asha Bharadwaj is an Assistant Professor at the Department of
Instrumentation and Applied Physics. The main focus of her
research group is on fabrication of high quality quantum dots.
At present her group is working on colloidal carbon quantum
dots and Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) Quantum
dots. Some part of her work is also dedicated to optimization
of Quantum dots precipitation in a glass host.

Asha Bharadwaj

Baladitya Suri is an Assistant Professor at the Department of

Instrumentation and Applied Physics. His group is interested in
quantum information and quantum computation with
superconducting circuits in particular, and solid-state circuits
in general. His current work also involves coupling
superconducting artificial atoms to propagating phonons on
the surface of a piezoelectric substrate to realise the acoustic
analogue of quantum optics— quantum acoustics. Another
area of interest is that of single photon generators and
Baladitya Suri detectors in the microwave regime.

Bikramjit Basu is a Professor at the Material Research Centre,

IISc. His research group has effectively applied the principles
and tools of these disciplines to develop the next generation
implants and bioengineering solutions to address unmet
clinical needs for musculoskeletal, dental, and neurosurgical
applications. Encompassing experimental discovery,
theoretical predictions, computational analysis, and clinical
translational research, his research group has laid the
foundation for biomechanically-compliant design of implants,
Bikramjit Basu 3D binderjet printing of biomaterials, science of
biocompatibility and bioengineering strategies, to advance the
field of biomaterials science and regenerative engineering;
thereby impacting human healthcare.

21
 Chandni Usha is an Assistant Professor at the Department of
Instrumentation and Applied Physics. Her group studies
electron transport in a variety of low dimensional
semiconductor and metallic systems and in particular, two-
dimensional electron systems in graphene and other layered
materials, van der Waals heterostructures and ultrathin
metallic wires. Other research interests include piezotronics
and sensing using two dimensional materials and
heterostructures.
Chandni Usha

Chetan Singh Thakur is an Assistant Professor in the

Department of Electronic Systems Engineering, IISc. His
research expertise lies in neuromorphic computing, mixed-
signal VLSI systems, computational neuroscience,
probabilistic signal processing, and machine learning. His
research interest is to understand the signal processing
aspects of the brain and apply those to build novel intelligent
systems.

Chetan Singh Thakur

Chiranjib Bhattacharyya is a Professor at the Department

of Computer Science and Automation, IISc. His research
interests are in foundations of Machine Learning,
Optimisation and their applications to Industrial problems. His
group actively pursues applications in the area of
computational biology, object detection in images, video
segmentation and summarization, detection of rare topics in
text documents, and statistical modeling of computer systems.

Chiranjib Bhattacharyya

22
 Himanshu Tyagi is an Assistant Professor at the Department of
Electrical Communication Engineering and an Associate
Faculty at the Robert Bosch Center for Cyber Physical Systems.
He conducts research in the areas of information theory,
statistics, cryptography, machine learning, distributed
intelligence systems, and socio-technical systems.

Himanshu Tyagi

Jaydeep K Basu is a Professor in the Department of

Physics, IISc. His research interests include soft condensed
matter physics, physics of biological systems, nanophotonics,
quantum plasmonics, topological photonics. His group has
developed considerable expertise in fabrication of single
photon emitting quantum emitters as well as their arrays
which can be readily coupled to optical and metamaterial
templates. His group’s work in the area of light-matter
interactions at the nanoscale is well recognized.
Jaydeep K. Basu

Kausik Majumdar is an Associate Professor at the Department

of Electrical Communication Engineering. His research group
uses a combination of theoretical and experimental
techniques to investigate the electrical and optoelectronic
properties of low dimensional materials and their
nanostructures. They also explore the possibilities of applying
these properties to develop novel devices, encompassing the
entire spectrum of device design and simulation, device
fabrication using state of the art semiconductor fabrication
Kausik Majumdar techniques, and device characterization using various
electrical, optical and spectroscopic techniques.

23
 Manish Jain is an Associate Professor in the Department of
Physics, IISc. His research focuses on theoretical investigations
of structural, electronic, and optical properties of materials
from first principles using density functional theory and many-
body perturbation theory, application of these methods to
calculate experimentally observable properties of defects in
solids and the development of new methods to calculate
material properties.
Manish Jain

Mayank Shrivastava is an Associate Professor in the

Department of Electronic Systems Engineering, IISc. His group
works on the science and technology of electron devices,
having focus on power semiconductor devices as well as
nanoscale / beyond Si CMOS for SoC applications. Given a
strong focus on the semiconductor technology for the future
electronics, the group also work on a multitude of science
threads like (i) physics of semiconductor device reliability, (ii)
Mayank Shrivastava electro-thermal / electron – phonon interaction in beyond Si
materials / devices, (iii) thermometry and thermal / phonon
transport in these materials / devices.

Nandy S K is a professor in the Department of Computational

and Data Sciences, IISc. His conducts research in the areas of
application specific instruction set processor architecture,
reconfigurable high performance processor architectures,
systems on silicon, compiling techniques for low power,
architectural synthesis of high performance VLSI systems,
parallel/pipelined low latency, high throughput arithmetic unit
architectures, multi-threaded architecture and global shared
Nandy S K memory cache coherence protocols.

24
 Navaneeth Ravichandran is an Assistant Professor in the
Mechanical Engineering Department, IISc. He is interested in
studying the electronic and thermal properties of
semiconductors and metals. Specifically, his group focuses on
developing computational and experimental tools to probe
the microscopic, quantum-mechanical interactions among
energy carriers that drive these macroscopic properties.

Navaneeth Ravichandran

Navin Kashyap is a Professor in the Department of

Electronics Communication Engineering. His research
interests include Coding for Data Communication and
Storage, Information-Theoretic Security, Source Coding, Data
Compression, Data Synchronization, Symbolic Dynamics and
Discrete Applied Mathematics.

Navin Kashyap

Pavan Nukala is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for

Nanoscience and Engineering, IISc. His research interests are in
correlated systems, ferroelectric and multiferroic thin films,
topological defects and functions in context of quantum
computation, in situ electron microscopy and spectroscopy,
material networks for neuromorphic computing, phase change
materials and thin film X-ray diffraction.

Pavan Nukala

25
 Rahul Pandit is a condensed matter physicist and a Professor
in the Department of Physics, IISc. His research interests
include problems in condensed-matter theory, phase
transitions, statistical mechanics and nonlinear dynamics. He
is known for his research on phase transitions and
spatiotemporal chaos and turbulence.

Rahul Pandit

N. Ravishankar is a professor at the Materials Research Centre,

IISc. He is known for his studies on nanostructured materials
and the primary research in his lab focuses on wet-chemical
synthesis, characterization and assembly of functional
inorganic nanostructures for a variety of applications.

N. Ravishankar

Sanjit Chatterjee is an Associate Professor in the Department

of Computer Science and Automation, IISc. He works primarily
in applied cryptography and information security with a
special emphasis on practice-oriented provable security.
Fascinated by the interplay of functionality, security and
efficiency of cryptographic protocols, he conducts research in
public key cryptography, identity-based cryptography, security
protocols for cloud, pairing-based cryptography and quantum
Sanjit Chatterjee
safe cryptography.

26
 Saurabh Chandorkar is an Assistant Professor at the Centre
for Nanoscience and Engineering, IISc. His research interests
include energy loss mechanisms in micro/nano scaled
resonators, wafer scale packaging for MEMS, human-computer
modality enhancements and low-cost system development for
IC fabrication and characterization.

Saurabh Chandorkar

Shankar K Selvaraja is an Associate Professor at the Centre for

Nanoscience and Engineering, IISc. His research area spans
widely from material development to complex photonic device
and integrated circuits. His group focuses on developing
integrated photonics technology on a variety of substrates for
data communication, signal processing and sensor
applications.

Shankar K. Selvaraja

Shayan Srinivasa Garani is an Associate Professor in the

Department of Electronic Systems Engineering, IISc. His
research contributions in the field of quantum science and
technology are in quantum error correction, quantum coded
networks and fault-tolerant quantum computing, linking
physics and electrical sciences. The research emphasis is on
solid mathematical foundations and algorithms leading to
system-level architectures for harnessing entanglement
towards a broad range of quantum information processing
Shayan Srinivasa Garani applications.

27
 S. A. Shivashankar is a Professor at the Material Research
Centre, IISc. He conducts research in development of chemical
precursors, MOCVD of oxide thin films, ALD of metals and metal
oxides, thermodynamic modelling of the CVD process,
microstructure development in MOCVD-grown films and
properties of thin films. He is a lead investigator on the Indian
Nanoelectronics Users Programme (INUP), a mission that
makes the device fabrication and characterization facilities at
S. A. Shivashankar IISc to researchers in various organizations throughout India.

Subroto Mukerjee is an Associate Professor in the Department

of Physics, IISc. His research interests include transport in
strongly correlated systems, thermalization and many-body
localization in quantum systems, physics of correlated cold
atoms and statics and dynamics of lower dimensional
quantum systems.

Subroto Mukerjee

Sudhir Vempati is an Associate Professor at the Centre for High

Energy Physics, IISc. He conducts research in the field " Physics
Beyond the Standard Model " of Elementary Particle Physics.
His group tries to build extensions of the standard model which
can accommodate solutions to problems like hierarchy
problem, non-zero neutrino masses, dark matter,
baryogenesis, leptogenesis, cosmological constant or dark
energy, flavour mixing etc. The frameworks they work are
mostly supersymmetry, supergravity, extra dimensions and
Sudhir Vempati
Grand Unified theories. In addition to model building, he is also
interested in the theoretical aspects of these framework like
Renormalisation group properties.

28
 Sumilan Banerjee is a theoretical condensed matter physicist
and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics, IISc.
The broad interest of his research group is to study the novel
properties of strongly correlated quantum systems and to
understand the interplay of interaction and disorder in many-
body quantum dynamics.

Sumilan Banerjee

Supradeepa V R is an Associate Professor at the Centre for

Nanoscience and Engineering, IISc. His research interests
include High Power Fiber Lasers, Nonlinear Optical Frequency
Conversion, Integrated Photonics, Optical Frequency Combs
and Metrology and High Bandwidth Optical Communications.

Supradeepa V R

Sushobhan Avasthi is an Associate Professor at the Centre for

Nanoscience and Engineering, IISc. His research interests
include high-efficiency perovskite thin-film solar cells,
integration of semiconducting oxides to silicon, forming
oxide/silicon heterojunction devices, functional oxide devices
for applications such as photovoltaics, sensing, and memory,
and integration of solar cell on novel substrates such as steel.
His lab focuses on the design, fabrication and characterization
of electronic devices. They are specialized in integrating
Sushobhan Avasthi different materials, e.g. silicon with metal-oxides and
germanium with silicon and interested in studying the new
functionalities and improved performance that such
heterogenous integration may introduce.

29
 Srimanta Middey is an Assistant Professor in the Department
of Physics, IISc. His research interests include emergent
phenomena in oxide heterostructures, strongly correlated
systems, metal-insulator transitions, superconductivity,
magnetism, X-ray spectroscopy and scattering. His group
explores various exotic electronic and magnetic phenomena
such as superconductivity, metal-insulator transition, high
mobility electron gas, spin liquid phase, and non-trivial spin
texture.
Srimanta Middey

Srinivas Talabattula is an Associate Professor in the

Department of Electronics Communication Engineering. His
research interest spans photonics integrated circuits, both
theoretical and experimental, with application to optical
communications and optical sensors. He is also interested in
optical biosensors and quantum photonics.

T. Srinivas

Soumyendu Raha is a Professor in the Department of

Computational and Data Sciences, IISc. His research interests
include simulation, control and optimization of constrained
dynamical systems, stochastic and deterministic differential-
algebraic equation systems, mathematical libraries, and VLSI
CAD applications.

Soumyendu Raha

30
 Varun Raghunathan is an Assistant Professor in the
Department of Electrical communication Engineering. His
research interest lies in experimental photonics with a major
focus on non-linear optics, integrated optic, flat land photonic
components, and optical microscopy. His research group
works on the design, fabrication and experimental
characterization of micro-/ nano-fabricated photonic devices.

Varun Raghunathan

Vibhor Singh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of

Physics, IISc. The focus of his research is on superconducting
devices based emerging quantum technology. Research in his
lab spans a variety of activities such as cavity-opto-mechanics
in microwave domain, superconducting materials for quantum
devices, circuit-QED systems, superconducting qubit-based
hybrid optomechanical systems.

Vibhor Singh

Vinod Sharma is a Professor in the Department of Electronics

Communication Engineering. His research interests are in the
areas of Communication and Computer Networks, Wireless
Communication, Sensor Networks, Queueing Theory,
Information Theory and Statistical Estimation Theory.

Vinod Sharma

31
 Vivek Tiwari is an Assistant Professor at the Solid State and
Structural Chemistry Unit, IISc. His group develops
spectroscopic techniques and quantum dynamical models to
understand ultrafast energy and charge delocalization on the
nanoscale. Projects in his lab involve both experimental and
theoretical components.

Vivek Tiwari

5b. Programme Coordinators

Jinu Mathew is a Grants Manager at the Office of Research

Grants, IISc. She has over four years of research administration
experience and has coordinated several large team science
grants at the national and international levels.

Jinu Mathew

Bhavya is a Grants Officer at the Office of Research Grants. She

assists with various administrative tasks pertaining to grants
management at the pre- and post-award phases.

Bhavya S. A.

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