We are pleased to announce and invite you to one of our weekly online zoom events.
 

Quantum network technology – the second life of rare-earth crystals

Starting with the demonstration of lasing more than 50 years ago, the special properties of rare-earth ion doped crystals and glasses have given rise to the development of solid-state lasers and amplifiers, which are crucial for the functioning of today’s world-wide Internet. As a fascinating generalization of their use in optical communication infrastructure, it became clear during the past decade that, when cooled to cryogenic temperatures of a few Kelvin, rare-earth crystals also promise the creation of technology for quantum communication networks. 
 
I will discuss some of our recent advances towards the development of key ingredients of such networks: the creation of single photons using individual rare-earth ions coupled to nano-photonic cavities, as well as the reversible storage of quantum states of light in large ensembles of rare-earth ions. This work is not only interesting from a fundamental point of view, but furthermore paves the path towards fully quantum-enabled networks, which will ultimately enable quantum communications over arbitrary distances.

Speaker

Dr. Wolfgang Tittel, Professor and Chair in Quantum Communication, University of Geneva
Wolfgang Tittel received his PhD from the University of Geneva in 2000. He joined the University of Calgary in 2006 as Associate Professor and Industrial Research Chair, and was promoted to Full Professor in 2013. In 2018 he accepted a position at QuTech at the Delft University of Technology and, since January 2023, he is a professor and Chair affiliated with the University of Geneva and the Constructor University in Bremen.

Dr. Tittel has engaged in groundbreaking research in quantum communication since 1996 -- from the early stages of this field on. His work stretches across atomic and optical physics and has raised appreciation that quantum communication is not restricted to controlled laboratory settings.  

Dr. Tittel is a member of the Swiss Quantum Commission, has steered Institutes at the Universities of Calgary and Delft, was a senior fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and has been a founding member of the international QCRYPT conference, the workshop for Quantum Repeaters and Networks, and the IOPscience journal “Quantum Science and Technology”. 


Moderator

Dr. Christian Bosshard, Managing Director Swissphotonics
Dr. Christian Bosshard received his degree in Physics (1986) and his doctorate (1991, Silver medal award) from ETH. From 2001-2021 he was working at CSEM, first as Section Head and then as Vice President and Head Photonics. Since 2013 he is Managing Director of Swissphotonics. Christian is a Fellow of Optica, former Board Member of EPIC, and Member of the Board of the University of Basel.

Date
Tuesday, 3 March 2026

Time
12:00 - 12:45

Software
Zoom

Costs
free of charge

Registration only necessary once
This event series requires registration (see link above). We will send you the access information (Zoom-link and ID) by email after the registration. As the Zoom link remains the same every week, you do not need to register again for the following meetings.

Contact University of Geneva
Prof. Wolfgang Tittel
Professor and Chair in Quantum Communication

Contact Swissphotonics
Dr. Christian Bosshard
Managing Director Swissphotonics
+41 79 405 1826

10 November 2025, Christian Bosshard