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[7/30/2026] T center optical linewidth narrowing!
Adam, Yu-En et al. posted a paper describing a novel technique to tackle the optical linewidth issue for device-coupled single T centers. By utilizing the above-band optical excitation alongside the resonant laser for PLE spectroscopy via a laser scanning microscope, up to a 70% optical linewidth reduction has been observed. The minimum optical linewidth reaches ~ 360 MHz, matching with the homogeneous linewidth measured via spectral hole burning experiments. The paper provides an effective pathway for mitigating spectral diffusion induced linewidth broadening for single T centers, which will play significant roles on advancing the single T center spin platform for quantum networking applications.
[4/17/2026] RCCQ CQED conference in Paris!
Supported by the Rice Smalley-Curl Institute and Rice Global Paris (RGP), the Rice Center for Cavity QED (RCCQ) held its inaugural conference, 'Frontiers of Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics,' at the RGP Center from April 13–17, 2026. The event gathered leading experts in CQED research and its applications across areas including quantum materials, condensed matter physics, and quantum information science. The conference also emphasized student development, welcoming Rice NRT-CQED fellows alongside other international graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. The organizing committee included Junichiro Kono, Songtao Chen, Alessandro Alabastri, Andrey Baydin, and Yonglong Xie of Rice University, as well as Carlo Sirtori from École Normale Supérieure.
[10/30/2025] T center spin readout!
Yu-En posted a paper describing two theoretical protocols leveraging cQED for high-fidelity single-shot spin readout for cavity-coupled single T center spins. The paper investigates the readout performance based on spin-dependent resonant fluorescence and cavity-reflection with near-term targeted (realistic) system parameters, yielding promising fidelity >99% and readout time of ~ 10 us. This work provides a guidance for the ongoing experimental endeavor for single-shot T center spin readout, which will be an enabling step for realizing T-center-spin-based quantum information systems.
[8/16/2025] Lab gets even colder!
We installed a Bluefors LD250 dilution refrigerator in the lab, reaching a base temperature of 7 mK!
Looking forward to the new science it unlocks for our research!
[7/31/2025] Yu-En defended his Master's Thesis!
Yu-En successfully defended his Master's thesis on "Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics for Single T center Spins in Silicon". Congratulations!
[5/25/2025] Songtao appointed as co-director of Rice Center for Cavity QED (RCCQ)!
Songtao has been appointed as co-director of the newly established Rice Center for Cavity QED. RCCQ focuses on cutting-edge research on CQED for a wide range of quantum applications, including strong light-matter interactions, quantum information science, quantum transductions and networking, quantum phononics, and quantum sensing.
Collaborating with the Rice NRT-CQED program, RCCQ will become the hub for interdisciplinary research and education on CQED at Rice, aiming to serve as the point of reference for this emerging field globally.
[12/1/2024] Xiang and Shengbin join the group!
We are glad to welcome two new lab members: Xiang Chen and Shengbin Yan. Xiang obtained his BS degree in 2024 from the University of Science and Technology of China and Shengbin got his BS degree in 2024 from the University of Michigan. Both of them will join the T center spin projects.
[8/14/2024] Rice Awarded NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) on cavity quantum electrodynamics!
Songtao, together with a team of Rice faculty and staff, have received a funding from NRT program for Broad Research in Interdisciplinary Development for Groundbreaking Engineering in Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics (BRIDGE-CQED).
The Rice NRT-CQED is housed within the Applied Physics program, and offers Ph.D. students a unique opportunity to tackle CQED research themes that span quantum optics, condensed matter physics, quantum materials, photonics, and energy harvesting, preparing them for future leadership in academia, national laboratories, and industry.
[Update 10/20/2024] Adam is selected as Rice NRT Fellow! Congratulations!
[11/4/2024] 2024 Rice Workshop on Functional Quantum Defects!
With the support from the Rice Center for Quantum Materials and Smalley-Curl Institute, we successfully held the 2024 Rice Workshop on Functional Quantum Defects!
The workshop invited distinguished external speakers on quantum defects research across different solid-state quantum platforms, towards broad quantum applications including networking, transduction, sensing, and computation! Rice News Release.
[7/6/2024] Texas BBQ!
Ulises and Adam successfully defended their MS thesis on 6/27/2024 and 7/3/2024, respectively. Congratulations!
Junior students Qiyang Huang and Xiao Hu from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) will join us over the summer research internships. Qiyang will work on the cQED modeling and Xiao will work on the spectroscopy.
Looking forward for a productive summer!
[10/30/2023] First Lab Paper!
Adam, Ulises and Yu-En posted the group's first paper on arXiv today: "Cavity-coupled telecom atomic source in silicon" describing the Purcell enhancement of a single T center in a silicon nanophotonic cavity. The work uses photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy to probe single T centers and analyzes cavity-QED of the coupled system. This is a major step towards utilizing single T centers in silicon for quantum information processing and quantum networking applications. Rice News Release.
[Update 3/15/2024] Published in Nature Communications!
[6/23/2023] NSF CAREER Award!
Songtao received the NSF CAREER award to study coherent control, measurement, and entanglement of single T-center qubits! Thanks NSF!
[2/8/2023] The third cryostat!
We have installed our third 3K cryostat in the lab. This cryostat system will be mainly used for fluorescence spectroscopy!
[11/30/2022] Yu En joins the group!
We are glad to welcome a new group member: Yu En Wong. Yu En obtained his BS degree in 2022 from National Taiwan University. He will work on the T-center spin-photon interfaces.
[7/31/2022] Waiting for single photons!
We have installed our SNSPDs and are ready to detect single photons!
[6/8/2022] We are cold!
Our first cryostat has been installed and operating at the base temperature!
[6/6/2022] Construction ends!
We moved into our newly renovated lab space in Brockman Hall B08! Let's start to do science!
[3/24/2022] Songtao and Junichiro Received Rice Faculty Initiatives Fund!
Songtao and Junichiro have been awarded Rice Faculty Initiatives Fund to seed the exploration of photon-mediated interactions for T-centers in a silicon nanophotonic cavity!
[3/4/2022] Lab Renovation Finally Started!
After a long wait, lab renovation now gets full thrust to move on! Stay tuned!
[9/24/2021] Welcome, Adam!
We are delighted to welcome a new group member: Adam Johnston. Adam obtained his BS degree in 2021 from University of Tennessee, Knoxville, US. He is joining the quantum photonics effort.
[8/17/2021] Welcome, Ulises!
We are delightful to have our first graduate student, Ulises Felix Rendon, to join the lab! Ulises received his BS and MS degrees in 2021 from Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico. He is working on the quantum defects in silicon.
[7/1/2021] Hello Quantum World!
The Chen Lab is now open at Rice ECE and we are part of the Rice Quantum Initiative! Our lab is located in Brockman Hall for Physics B08! [Rice ECE news][Rice Story][Rice Engineering Story]
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