Keji Lai, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Trull Centennial Professorship in Physics #1 (Fellow), Physics, University of Texas at Austin

 

2023 Experimental Physics Investigator

Keji Lai, Ph.D.
 

Research Description

Keji Lai’s research aims to spatially resolve the interaction between gigahertz acoustic waves and various quantum states by using a unique microwave microscope design. The results aim to inform the field of quantum acoustics that utilizes sound waves to transport quantum information.

Dr. Lai plans to implement an ultralow-temperature microwave microscope with unprecedented spatial resolution and displacement sensitivity. Using this unique instrument, his group proposes to image gigahertz sound quanta, probe the phonon-photon interaction in quantum acoustic systems, and visualize acoustic patterns in optomechanical structures.

Research Impact

Dr. Lai’s work could advance our understanding of interactions between quantum sound and quantum bits, which is crucial for quantum information science. The ultralow-temperature microwave microscope has potential applications in condensed matter physics for the probing of lattice, charge, and spin degrees of freedom in complex systems. The construction of ultra-sensitive microwave electronics also holds the potential to benefit device engineering for nanoelectronics and optoelectronics.

 
 

related links

Experimental Physics Investigators Initiative Science University of Texas at Austin, Department of Physics Back

Education

PhD, Princeton University
BS, Tsinghua University, China

Affiliated Investigators