<p dir="ltr">Quantum sensing and information processing rely increasingly on solid-state spin defects, which offer robust qubit candidates at room temperature. Among these, nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have been extensively studied, but the discovery of spin defects in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials, particularly hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), has opened new avenues for compact, scalable quantum devices. The unique 2D structure of hBN enables its integration into nanoscale devices, where spin defects like the negatively charged boron vacancy serve as optically addressable qubits with promising optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) properties, making them highly suitable for ambient-condition quantum sensors and information storage.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">The first part of this dissertation investigates the controlled generation, characterization, and functionalization of spin defects in hBN, focusing on boron vacancy defect ensembles. Techniques such as laser writing and ion implantation are used to create these defects, while plasmonic enhancement strategies significantly improve brightness and optical visibility. Pulsed ODMR measurements are used to analyze the spin coherence properties, revealing extended coherence times crucial for high-sensitivity applications.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">In the second part, we explore carbon-related defects within both hBN and boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), where single defects exhibit unique hyperfine interactions. By combining experimental studies with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, this work identifies the atomic structures and electronic properties of these carbon-based defects. In BNNTs, carbon-related spin defects are examined for their potential in high-resolution magnetic imaging when used in scanning probe microscopy.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">This research advances our understanding of spin defects in 2D materials, laying essential groundwork for future innovations in quantum information storage, nanoscale magnetic sensing and on-chip quantum technologies.</p>

Atomic defects in solids offer access to atom-like quantum properties without complex trapping methods while displaying a rich physics due to interactions with their solid-state environment. Such properties have made them an advantageous building block for quantum information processing, in particular to construct a quantum network, where information would be encoded in spins and transferred between nodes through photons. Among defects in solids, the negatively charged silicon-vacancy centre in diamond (SiV$^{−}$) has attracted attention for its very promising optical properties for such a network. In this thesis, we investigate the spin properties of the silicon-vacancy centre as a potential spin-photon interface. First, we use resonant excitation of an SiV$^{−}$ centre in an external magnetic field to selectively address different electronic states and analyse the resulting fluorescence. We find evidence of selection rules in the optical transitions revealing that the centre possesses an electronic spin S = 1/2. Making use of the dependence of such selection rules on the applied magnetic field orientation, we resonantly drive two optical transitions forming a $\Lambda$-scheme. In the double resonance condition, we achieve coherent population trapping, whereby the SiV$^{−}$ is pumped into a dark state corresponding to a superposition of the two addressed ground states of opposite spin. This technique allows us to evaluate the coherence time of the dark state and hence of the spin, while demonstrating the possibility of all-optical control of the spin when a $\Lambda$-scheme is available. We then use resonant optical pulses to initialise and read out the spin state of a single SiV$^{−}$. By tuning a microwave pulse into resonance between two ground states of opposite spin, we demonstrate optically detected magnetic resonance. Subsequently, by varying the duration of a resonant microwave pulse, we achieve coherent control of a single SiV$^{−}$ electronic spin. Through Ramsey interferometry, we measure a spin dephasing time of 115 $\pm$ 9 ns. We then investigate interactions of the SiV$^{−}$ with its environment. We analyse the hyperfine interaction of the SiV$^{−}$ spin with the nuclear spin of $^{29}$Si, with a view to taking advantage of the long-lived nuclear spin in the future. We show that single-phonon-mediated excitations between electronic states of the SiV$^{−}$ are the dominant spin dephasing and population decay mechanism and evaluate how external strain alters optical selection rules and can be used to improve the coherence time of the spin.

Quantum correlations play a fundamental role in quantum information science. The variety of their manifestations has become increasingly apparent following the development of novel light sources, protocols and photodetectors. One broad classification identifies two instances of non-classical correlations: particle and mode entanglement. These categories mirror two coexisting descriptions of quantum systems in terms of discrete and continuous variables of the electromagnetic field. The past decades have generated a number of promising results based on schemes which encompass elements from both frameworks, rather than viewing the two descriptions as mutually exclusive. In this context, it is possible to conceive and realise experiments where either the quantum resource or the detection system is 'hybrid'. Optical weak-field homodyne detectors bring together phase sensitivity and photon counting; as such, they represent a detection scheme which works across continuous and discrete variables of the radiation field. In this thesis we present a two-mode weak-field homodyne detection layout with added photon-number resolution and apply it to the study of a split single-photon state and a squeezed vacuum state. As a first test of the capabilities of this system, we investigate the reconstruction of relevant features of a given quantum resource - such as its photon statistics - with our detection scheme. Further, we experimentally demonstrate the observation of an instance of non-classical optical coherence which combines the continuous- and discrete-variable descriptions explicitly. The ability to probe phenomena at the interface of wave and particle regimes opens the way to novel, improved schemes for quantum information processing. From a more fundamental perspective, such hybrid approaches may shed light on the very roots of quantum enhancement.

Après une première révolution quantique marquée par l'avènement de la physique quantique et de ses lois contre-intuitives, le monde du XXIe siècle est en proie à une seconde révolution articulée autour des technologies quantiques. Ces dernières promettent un bouleversement important dans les domaines de la communication, du calcul, de la simulation et de la métrologie. Dans cette thèse, nous abordons deux des quatre sous-domaines cités précédemment, à savoir ceux de la communication et de la métrologie quantique. Le mot d'ordre rassemblant ces travaux est l'intrication. En effet, nous montrons que, grâce à cette propriété fondamentale, les performances des systèmes de communication et de métrologie standards peuvent être surpassés. Ainsi, nous présentons comment générer ces états intriqués responsables de l'avantage quantique, et ce sur différentes plateformes technologiques. La première plateforme exploitée est le silicium. Récente pour la photonique, elle combine des avantages de maturité permettant l'intégration de nombreuses structures micrométriques sur une même puce, avec des propriétés non-linéaires, basés sur des processus d'ordre 3, efficaces. Le silicium se destine alors à de nombreuses applications comme nous le montrons en générant des paires de photons intriqués démultiplexés spectralement et directement compatibles avec les réseaux de télécommunications standards. La seconde plateforme que nous présentons est le niobate de lithium. Cette dernière, très exploitée dans bon nombres de travaux en photonique quantique, possède une efficacité de génération de paires de photons intriqués très importante, notamment grâce à l'exploitation de processus non-linéaires d'ordre 2. Nous détaillons une expérience de génération d'états hyper-intriqués, qui, à l'instar du silicium, est orientée vers le domaine de la communication quantique. Enfin, nous exploitons aussi ces paires de photons intriqués combinés à des méthodes d'interférométrie quantique afin de réaliser une expérience de métrologie quantique. Le but de cette dernière étant de mesurer avec une précision inédite la différence d'indices de réfraction de fibres bi-coeurs. / After a first quantum revolution marked by the advent of quantum physics and its counter-intuitive laws, the XXIst century is in the throes of a second quantum revolution based on quantum technologies. These promises a major upheaval in the areas of communication, calculation, simulation and metrology. In this thesis, we address two of the four subdomains mentioned above, namely those of communication and quantum metrology. The main word bringing together these works is entanglement. Indeed, we show that, thanks to this fundamental property, the performances of standard communication and metrology systems can be surpassed. Thus, we present how to generate these entangled states responsible for the quantum advantage, and this on two technological platforms. The first platform exploited is silicon. The latter, recent for photonics, combines the advantages of maturity allowing the integration of many micrometric structures on the same chip, with efficient non-linear properties, based on third order process. Silicon is then destined for many applications as we show by generating pairs of spectrally demultiplexed entangled photons directly compatible with standard telecommunication networks. The second platform we present is lithium niobate. The latter, widely used in many quantum photonics demonstrations, has a very important efficiency of entangled photon pairs generation, notably thanks to the exploitation of second order non-linear process. We detail an experiment of hyper-entangled states generation, which, like silicon, is oriented towards the domain of quantum communication. Finally, we also exploit these pairs of entangled photons combined with quantum interferometry methods to realize a quantum metrology experiment. The purpose is to measure with unprecedented precision the refractive indices difference of dual-core fibers.

Quantenzentren in Kristallgittern spielen als sogenannte Festkörper-Qubits eine entscheidende Rolle für die Entwicklung der zweiten Quantenrevolution. Das G-Zentrum in Silizium kann hierfür einen wesentlichen Beitrag leisten, da es sich CMOS-kompatibel und damit skalierbar herstellen lässt, es eine scharfe Nullphononenlinie im Bereich der optischen Telekommunikation besitzt und ODMR-aktiv ist. Dies macht es zu einem geeigneten Kandidaten für die Entwicklung photonischer Mikrochips, auf denen Quantentechnologien und Lichtwellenleitung durch eine Spin-Photon-Schnittstelle miteinander verknüpft werden, um somit alle Kriterien zum Aufbau eines Quantennetzwerkes zu erfüllen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden G-Zentren durch niederenergetische und räumlich-selektive Ionen-Implantation hergestellt und mittels Photolumineszenz-Spektroskopie und Magnetresonanzmessungen auf ihre optischen und quantenphysikalischen Eigenschaften untersucht. Anhand umfangreicher temperaturabhängiger Ensemble-Messungen in reinem Silizium werden offene Fragen zum Sättigungsverhalten, der Rekombinationsdynamik und der Verschiebung bzw. Verbreiterung der Nullphononenlinie geklärt und die ersten Zerfallszeit-Messungen des angeregten Zustandes des Defektes vorgestellt. Durch die Verwendung von SOI-Proben in Kombination mit niederenergetischer Ionen-Implantation wird weiterhin die erste, jemals in Silizium isolierte Einzelphotonenquelle hergestellt und durch zahlreiche Polarisations- und Korrelationsmessungen als solche identifiziert. Durch die Einzelphotonenmessung erfolgt zusätzlich eine erste Abschätzung der Quanteneffizienz der G-Zentren und die Messung der Lebensdauer des isolierten angeregten Zustandes. Um den Quantenzustand der G-Zentren mittels Mikrowellenfeld manipulieren und sowohl optische als auch elektronisch auslesen zu können, wird ein experimenteller Aufbau beschrieben, mit dem die magnetische Resonanz der G-Zentren in einer SOI-Probe temperaturabhängig bis in den kryogenen Bereich detektiert werden kann. Nach den ersten manuellen Testmessungen wird der Versuchsaufbau durch neue Steuergeräte und eine Automatisierung weiter optimiert, um damit umfangreiche Messungen bei T = 40K und Raumtemperatur durchzuführen. Dabei wird eine mikrowellenabhängige Manipulation der Photolumineszenz der G-Zentren beobachtet, welche mit dem detektierten Photostrom korreliert ist. Die Manipulation der Photolumineszenz wird hauptsächlich auf eine Veränderung der Ladungsträgerdichte aufgrund anderer spinabhängiger Rekombinationszentren zurückgeführt, welche sich an den Grenzflächen des SOI-Schichtstapels bilden. Ideen, um den Einfluss der G-Zentren durch Unterdrückung der anderen Rekombinationszentren zu erhöhen, werden diskutiert.:Bibliografische Beschreibung Referat Abstract Zusammenfassung der Dissertation Contents List of Figures List of Tables Abbreviations 1 Introduction and motivation 1.1 Demand for silicon photonics and quantum technologies 1.2 Description and aim of the project 1.3 Outline 2 Solid-state and optical properties of silicon 2.1 Crystal properties 2.1.1 Structure 2.1.2 Lattice vibrations 2.1.3 Debye-Waller factor 2.1.4 Energy bands 2.2 Defects and doping in silicon 2.2.1 Intrinsic and extrinsic point defects 2.2.2 Line, area and volume defects 2.2.3 Doping 2.3 Luminescence from silicon 2.3.1 Optical properties of bulk silicon 2.3.2 Non-linear effects in silicon 2.3.3 Dislocation loops 2.3.4 Quantum confinement effects 2.3.5 Rare-Earth (Erbium) doping 2.3.6 Light emitting defects in silicon 2.4 G centers in silicon 2.4.1 Structural properties and creation of G centers 2.4.2 Optical properties and applications of G centers 3 Solid-state quantum technologies 3.1 Ion implantation for defect engineering 3.1.1 High-energy accelerator “Lipsion” 3.1.2 100 kV Microbeam 3.2 Quantum optics 3.2.1 Properties of single photons 3.2.2 Photoluminescence and single-photon measurements 3.2.3 Applications of single-photon sources - quantum key distribution 3.3 Quantum computing 3.3.1 Basic principle 3.3.2 Photonic qubits 3.3.3 Solid-state qubits 4 Optical properties of an ensemble of G centers in silicon 4.1 Experiment description and basic properties 4.1.1 Sample fabrication 4.1.2 Optical spectroscopy 4.1.3 PL response of different defect densities 4.1.4 Photoluminescence excitation measurement 4.1.5 Saturation behavior 4.2 Temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectroscopy 4.2.1 Thermal redshift 4.2.2 ZPL broadening 4.2.3 Temperature-dependent PL intensity 4.2.4 Temperature-dependent lifetime and decay rate 4.3 Recombination dynamics 4.3.1 Spectrally selective recombination dynamics 4.3.2 Lifetime and defect density 4.3.3 Phonon-assisted recombination model 5 G centers as single-photon sources in silicon 5.1 Experimental description 5.1.1 Sample fabrication 5.1.2 Optical spectroscopy 5.2 Evidence of a single-photon source 5.2.1 Autocorrelation study 5.2.2 Photodynamics 5.2.3 PL polarization 5.3 Properties of single photons from G centers 5.3.1 ZPL shift 5.3.2 Saturation and stability 5.3.3 Lifetime of an isolated G center 5.3.4 Estimation of the quantum efficiency 6 Optical and photoelectric readout of G centers in silicon 6.1 Setup 6.1.1 Sample preparation 6.1.2 Circuit board and cryostat 6.1.3 Measuring and control devices 6.1.4 PL spectroscopy 6.2 Manual ODMR and PDMR at cryogenic temperature 6.3 Automated PDMR measurements 6.3.1 Spectrum analysis 6.3.2 Etiology 6.3.3 Voltage dependence 6.3.4 Temperature dependence 6.3.5 Laser dependence 6.3.6 Magnetic field dependence 6.4 Automated PDMR and ODMR at cryogenic temperature 6.5 Discussion 6.5.1 Microwave dielectric heating in silicon 6.5.2 Spin-dependent recombination centers in Si and Si/SiO2 interfaces 6.6 Conclusion 7 Summary and outlook Bibliography Danksagung Wissenschaftlicher Werdegang Selbstständigkeitserklärung Erklärung für die Bibliothek / Quantum centers in crystal lattices can form so-called solid-state qubits that play a crucial role for the progress of the second quantum revolution. The G center in silicon can make a significant contribution to this, since it can be fabricated in a CMOS compatible and thus scalable way, it has a sharp zero-phonon line in the optical telecommunication range, and it is ODMR active. This makes it a suitable candidate for the development of photonic microchips, where quantum technologies and optical waveguides are linked by a spin-photon interface, thus fulfilling all the criteria to build a quantum network. In the present work, G centers are fabricated by low-energy and spatially-selective ion implantation and their optical and quantum physical properties are investigated by photoluminescence spectroscopy and magnetic resonance measurements. Using extensive temperature-dependent ensemble measurements in pure silicon, open questions on saturation behavior, recombination dynamics, and zero-phonon line shift as well as broadening are clarified, and the first decay time measurements of the excited state of this defect are presented. By using SOI samples in combination with low-energy ion implantation, the first single-photon source ever isolated in silicon is further fabricated and identified as such by extensive polarization and correlation measurements. The single-photon measurement additionally provides a first estimation of the quantum efficiency of the G centers and the measurement of the lifetime of the isolated excited state. In order to manipulate the quantum state of the G centers by means of a microwave field and to enable an optical as well as an electronical readout, an experimental setup is designed and assembled that allows the temperature-dependent detection of magnetic resonances of G centers in a SOI sample down to the cryogenic range. After the first manual test measurements, the experimental setup is further optimized by new control devices and process automation to allow extensive measurements at T = 40K and room temperature. A microwave-dependent manipulation of the photoluminescence of the G centers is observed, which is correlated with the detected photocurrent. The manipulation of the photoluminescence is mainly attributed to a change in the charge carrier density due to other spin-dependent recombination centers that form at the interfaces of the SOI layer stack. Ideas to increase the influence of the G centers by suppressing the other recombination centers are discussed.:Bibliografische Beschreibung Referat Abstract Zusammenfassung der Dissertation Contents List of Figures List of Tables Abbreviations 1 Introduction and motivation 1.1 Demand for silicon photonics and quantum technologies 1.2 Description and aim of the project 1.3 Outline 2 Solid-state and optical properties of silicon 2.1 Crystal properties 2.1.1 Structure 2.1.2 Lattice vibrations 2.1.3 Debye-Waller factor 2.1.4 Energy bands 2.2 Defects and doping in silicon 2.2.1 Intrinsic and extrinsic point defects 2.2.2 Line, area and volume defects 2.2.3 Doping 2.3 Luminescence from silicon 2.3.1 Optical properties of bulk silicon 2.3.2 Non-linear effects in silicon 2.3.3 Dislocation loops 2.3.4 Quantum confinement effects 2.3.5 Rare-Earth (Erbium) doping 2.3.6 Light emitting defects in silicon 2.4 G centers in silicon 2.4.1 Structural properties and creation of G centers 2.4.2 Optical properties and applications of G centers 3 Solid-state quantum technologies 3.1 Ion implantation for defect engineering 3.1.1 High-energy accelerator “Lipsion” 3.1.2 100 kV Microbeam 3.2 Quantum optics 3.2.1 Properties of single photons 3.2.2 Photoluminescence and single-photon measurements 3.2.3 Applications of single-photon sources - quantum key distribution 3.3 Quantum computing 3.3.1 Basic principle 3.3.2 Photonic qubits 3.3.3 Solid-state qubits 4 Optical properties of an ensemble of G centers in silicon 4.1 Experiment description and basic properties 4.1.1 Sample fabrication 4.1.2 Optical spectroscopy 4.1.3 PL response of different defect densities 4.1.4 Photoluminescence excitation measurement 4.1.5 Saturation behavior 4.2 Temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectroscopy 4.2.1 Thermal redshift 4.2.2 ZPL broadening 4.2.3 Temperature-dependent PL intensity 4.2.4 Temperature-dependent lifetime and decay rate 4.3 Recombination dynamics 4.3.1 Spectrally selective recombination dynamics 4.3.2 Lifetime and defect density 4.3.3 Phonon-assisted recombination model 5 G centers as single-photon sources in silicon 5.1 Experimental description 5.1.1 Sample fabrication 5.1.2 Optical spectroscopy 5.2 Evidence of a single-photon source 5.2.1 Autocorrelation study 5.2.2 Photodynamics 5.2.3 PL polarization 5.3 Properties of single photons from G centers 5.3.1 ZPL shift 5.3.2 Saturation and stability 5.3.3 Lifetime of an isolated G center 5.3.4 Estimation of the quantum efficiency 6 Optical and photoelectric readout of G centers in silicon 6.1 Setup 6.1.1 Sample preparation 6.1.2 Circuit board and cryostat 6.1.3 Measuring and control devices 6.1.4 PL spectroscopy 6.2 Manual ODMR and PDMR at cryogenic temperature 6.3 Automated PDMR measurements 6.3.1 Spectrum analysis 6.3.2 Etiology 6.3.3 Voltage dependence 6.3.4 Temperature dependence 6.3.5 Laser dependence 6.3.6 Magnetic field dependence 6.4 Automated PDMR and ODMR at cryogenic temperature 6.5 Discussion 6.5.1 Microwave dielectric heating in silicon 6.5.2 Spin-dependent recombination centers in Si and Si/SiO2 interfaces 6.6 Conclusion 7 Summary and outlook Bibliography Danksagung Wissenschaftlicher Werdegang Selbstständigkeitserklärung Erklärung für die Bibliothek

<p dir="ltr">This work is the first report of optically addressable spin qubits in a semi-1D material, Boron Nitride Nanotubes (BNNTs). We perform the characterization of these spin defects and utilize their properties to do omnidirectional magnetic field sensing. We transfer these BNNTs with spin defects onto an AFM cantilever and perform scanning probe magnetometry of a 2D Nickel pattern on a gold waveguide. </p>

L'introduction de la supraconductivité dans des structures de type MOSFET en silicium ouvre de nouvelles perspectives dans la recherche en physique. Dans cette thèse, on s'intéresse aux propriétés de transport électronique au sein d'un MOSFET fabriqué avec des sources et drains supraconducteurs. Afin de garantir la reproductibilité de ces dispositifs, il est important d'intégrer des matériaux supraconducteurs compatibles avec la technologie CMOS exploitant la technologie silicium qui a pour énorme avantage d'être véritablement fiable et mature. L'idée fondamentale est de réaliser un nouveau type de circuit supraconducteur avec une géométrie de type transistor dans lequel un supracourant non dissipatif circulant au sein du dispositif, de la source vers le drain, serait modulé par une tension de grille : un JOFET. Une perspective importante est la réalisation d'un qubit supraconducteur grâce à une technologie parfaitement reproductible et mature. Cependant, à très basse température et avec la diminution de la taille des dispositifs, deux phénomènes a priori antagonistes entrent en compétition, à savoir la supraconductivité qui implique un grand nombre d'électrons condensés dans le même état quantique macroscopique et l'interaction Coulombienne qui décrit des processus de transport à une particule. L'intérêt de l'étude est donc de réaliser de tels transistors afin de mieux comprendre comment ce genre de dispositif hybride peut s'adapter à des propriétés opposées. Dans cette thèse, j'ai étudié deux façons d'introduire la supraconductivité dans nos dispositifs. La première option est de réaliser des sources et drains en silicium rendus supraconducteurs par dopage en bore et recuit laser effectué grâce à des techniques de dopage hors-équilibre robustes et bien maîtrisées. Même si la supraconductivité du silicium très fortement dopé en bore est connue depuis 2006 et son état supraconducteur a été très bien caractérisé sur des couches bidimensionnelles, la supraconductivité du SOI, qui est le substrat initial à la base de certains transistors, n'a jamais encore été testée et étudiée. L'objectif est de pouvoir adapter ces techniques de dopage au SOI afin de le rendre supraconducteur et de pouvoir l'intégrer par la suite dans des dispositifs de type MOSFET. La seconde option considérée est la réalisation de source et drain à base de siliciures supraconducteurs tel que le PtSi. Ce siliciure est intéressant du point de vue de sa température critique relativement haute de 1K. D'un point de vue technologique, les MOSFETs à barrière Schottky présentant des contacts en PtSi supraconducteur ont été élaborés au CEA/LETI. Les mesures à très basse température au sein d'un cryostat à dilution ont mis en évidence cette compétition entre la supraconductivité et les effets d'interaction Coulombienne et ont également révélé la supraconductivité dans le MOSFET comportant des contacts en PtSi grâce notamment à l'observation du gap induit dans le dispositif. / Superconducting transport through a silicon MOSFET can open up many new possibilities ranging from fundamental research to industrial applications. In this thesis, we investigate the electric transport properties of a MOSFET built with superconducting source and drain contacts. Due to their advantages in terms of scalability and reproducibility, we want to integrate superconducting materials compatible with CMOS technology, thus exploiting the reliable and mature silicon technology. The idea is to realize a new type of superconducting circuits in a transistor geometry in which a non-dissipative supercurrent flowing through the device from source to drain will be modulated by a gate: a JOFET. One important outcome is the realization of superconducting qubits in a perfectly reproducible and mature technology. However, at low temperature and with the reduction of the size of the devices, two antagonistic phenomena appear. The dissipation-free transport of Cooper pairs competes with lossy single-particle processes due to Coulomb interactions. The goal is to understand how these two conflicting properties manifest in such hybrid devices. In this thesis, I studied two different ways of introducing superconductivity in the devices. We deployed a high boron doping and a laser annealing provided by well-controlled out-of-equilibrium doping techniques to make the silicon superconducting. Although highly boron-doped silicon has been known to be superconducting since 2006, superconductivity of SOI, the basic brick of some transistors, was never tested before. We aim at adapting those doping techniques on SOI in order to make it superconducting and to integrate it in transistor-like devices. In a second project, we study source and drain contacts fabricated with superconducting silicides such as PtSi. Such Schottky barrier MOSFETs with superconducting PtSi contacts are elaborated at the CEA/LETI. Measurements at very low temperature revealed the competition between superconductivity and Coulomb interactions and moreover, have brought evidence of superconductivity in PtSi based silicon Schottky barrier MOSFET.

In this project, the fabrication of single-photon detectors based on superconducting nanowires is presented, with great focus on extending their operation range to the mid infrared. In particular, Niobium Titanium Nitride (NbTiN) and Molybdenum Silicide (MoSi), superconducting materials with different properties, are presented, studied and used as fabrication platforms. Different approaches are followed, mainly adjusting the nanowire width and thickness to achieve near unity quantum efficiency at mid infrared wavelengths. With the vision of using these devices for atmospheric LIDAR and sensing experiments, saturation at 2050 nm is studied that corresponds to the absorption peak of CO2. For the best device made on NbTiN thin films, unity quantum efficiency is shown at 2050 nm with a time jitter of 116 ps at 1550 nm. Simulations using the transfer matrix method and the commercial software Lumerical are carried out, concluding that the devices made in NbTiN could have 23.1-26.7% system detection efficiency at 2050 nm on a Silicon SiO2/Si platform. Further improvements show that the detection efficiency could reach between 52-62% (for 0.33 and 0.5 fill factor, respectively calculated with FDTD simulations) by engineering optical cavities. / I detta projekt presenteras en fabrikations process för enstaka foton detektorer baserade på supraledande nanotrådar. Fokuset har legat på att utöka våglängds regionen där detektorernas kan detektera till mid-infrarött ljus. Två specifika supraledande material, Niobium Titan (NbTiN) och Molybdenum Silicide (MoSi), med olika egenskaper har studerats och använts som material. Dimensionerna på nanotrådarna, framför allt tjockleken och bredden, har optimerats för att uppnå nära enhetlig kvant-effektivitet vid mid-infraröda våglängder. Med visionen att detektorerna ska användas för atmosfäriska LiDAR mätningar har de studerats för satruering vid 2050 nm som motsvarar ett absorbtions maximum för CO2. Detektorerna tillverkade med NbTinN uppnådde 100% kvant effektivitet för 2050 nm ljus med ett tids jitter på 116 ps vid 1550 nm ljus. Simuleringar med överförings matrisen metoden och den kommersiella mjukvaran Lumerical visar att NbTiN detektorer placerade på en SiO2/Si platform kan ha en 23.1-26.7% effektivitet vid 2050 nm. Ytterligare simuleringas visar att effektiviteten kan nå upp till 52-62% (för 0.33 och 0.5 fyllnadsfaktor, respektive beräknad med FDTD) genom att inkludera optiska kaviteter.

<p> The Bias-Variance Trade-off, where restricting the size of a hypothesis class can limit the generalization error of a model, is a canonical problem in Machine Learning, and a particular issue for high-variance models like Neural Networks that do not have enough parameters to enter the interpolating regime. Regularization techniques add bias to a model to lower testing error at the cost of increasing training error. This paper applies quantum circuits as activation functions in order to regularize a Feed-Forward Neural Network. The network using Quantum Activation Functions is compared against a network of the same dimensions except using Rectified Linear Unit (ReLU) activation functions, which can fit any arbitrary function. The Quantum Activation Function network is then shown to have comparable training performance to ReLU networks, both with and without regularization, for the tasks of binary classification, polynomial regression, and regression on a multicollinear dataset, which is a dataset whose design matrix is rank-deficient. The Quantum Activation Function network is shown to achieve regularization comparable to networks with L2-Regularization, the most commonly used method for neural network regularization today, with regularization parameters in the range of λ ∈ [.1, .5], while still allowing the model to maintain enough variance to achieve low training error. While there are limitations to the current physical implementation of quantum computers, there is potential for future architecture, or hardware-based, regularization methods that leverage the aspects of quantum circuits that provide lower generalization error. </p>

<p dir="ltr">The limitations of the traditional von Neumann computing architecture, particularly evident in the slowdown of Moore's law, have spurred the development of alternative domain-specific computing paradigms. This dissertation explores novel materials-physics based solutions for two promising alternatives: quantum computing and probabilistic computing, with a specific focus on leveraging magnetic spin textures and their unique properties. We demonstrate that magnetic spin textures, with their inherent topology and chirality, offer distinctive advantages in addressing key challenges in both computing paradigms. These textures' ability to couple with various degrees of freedom, such as electrical, thermal, mechanical, and optical, makes them particularly suitable for hybrid device implementations. Our work presents four contributions to the field.</p><p dir="ltr">First, we propose a novel approach of using skyrmions --- topologically protected rigid-object like spin textures --- to nucleate and braid Majorana modes in topological superconductor-magnetic multilayer heterostructures. We show analytically and numerically that skyrmion--vortex bound pairs can be braided in experimentally relevant timescales. Inspired by circuit quantum electrodynamics methods, we propose a novel readout scheme based on the dispersive coupling between vortex confinement states and Majorana bound states. This work paves the way for experimentally demonstrating the non-Abelian statistics of Majorana bound states, which might be a crucial step towards the development of fault-tolerant topological quantum computers.</p><p dir="ltr">Second, we study thermal relaxation mechanisms and timescales of spin-split chiral antiferromagnets. The class of spin-split antiferromagnets, including altermagnets, have recently emerged as excellent candidates for ultra-fast and low-energy spintronics applications. Due the lack of dipolar order, they are unaffected by stray fields. However, the spin-split bands still offer electrical control and readout of these antiferromagnets unlike the conventional antiferromagnets. While a lot of promising phenomena in these materials has already been experimentally demonstrated, thermal relaxation mechanisms of such magnets remain unexplored. Using reaction rate theories and statistical physics tools, we study the thermal dynamics of chiral antiferromagnets. We show that these materials thermally relax at ultra-fast picosecond-order timescales. Further, by building on the analogy between XY magnets and current biased Josephson junctions, we propose a novel approach to electrically tune the thermal barrier in chiral antiferromagnets. Although such chiral antiferromagnets may not be suitable for non-volatile memory type of applications, they emerge as promising candidates for the building blocks of probabilistic computers.</p><p dir="ltr">We then turn our attention to the strongly correlated quantum system of quantum spin liquids. We show that spin textures exchange coupled to a Kitaev spin liquid (KSL) can induce emergent gauge fields on the Majorana fermions in the spin liquid. These emergent gauge fields may trap zero energy modes if they are able to thread a net flux through the KSL. We derive analytical expressions for the gauge fields in the presence of spin textures and outline the conditions to obtain a net flux. Zero energy Majorana fermion modes trapped on such spin textures may eventually be used for fault tolerant quantum computing.</p><p dir="ltr">Finally, in the last project, we bring the quantum and probabilistic computing paradigms together by proposing a quantum two level system as a sensor for the building blocks of a probabilistic computer. we show that quantum spin defects such as Nitrogen vacancy centers (NV) can be used as novel probes for characterizing probabilistic bits. We show that various NV sensing protocols can be leveraged to create a complete picture of this nascent magnet based probabilistic bits including their energy barrier and attempt times.</p><p dir="ltr">Our findings suggest that magnetic spin textures, particularly their topological and chiral properties, could provide crucial solutions to current challenges in alternative computing platforms. This work bridges the gap between materials physics, device physics and the applications in alternative computing platforms.</p>