PhD Position : When Superconductivity Meets the Quantum Hall Effect

COFUND QuanG; France; Sur place; EUR 30 000 - 42 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

COFUND QuanG in France invites applications for a First Stage Researcher (R1) PhD position focused on hybridizing superconductivity with the quantum Hall effect to engineer topological quantum circuits.

The project develops high-mobility graphene van der Waals structures and Josephson junctions, with low-temperature transport measurements and cQED spectroscopy down to 10 mK and fields up to 16 T.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or equivalent qualification.
• Strong background in condensed matter or quantum physics.
• Ability to collaborate within an international research team.

Connaissances

Condensed matter physics

Quantum physics

International collaboration

Formation

Master’s degree or equivalent

Description du poste

Organisation/Company COFUND QuanG Research Field Physics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 7 Sep 2026 - 12:00 (Europe/Paris) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 1 Feb 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe – COFUND Reference Number 101261699 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

General Scope:
Hybridizing superconductivity with the quantum Hall (QH) effect offers a powerful route toward engineering novel quantum circuits capable of hosting and manipulating topological and non-Abelian states, a key ingredient for fault-tolerant quantum computation.
Quantum Hall phases exhibit a remarkable diversity of emergent phenomena, including full spin polarization, helical edge modes with spin–momentum locking1, fractionalization of charge into anyonic quasiparticles, and, most strikingly, non-local states with non-commutative braiding statistics in the non-Abelian regime. Coupling these exotic edge states to superconductors opens the door to topological superconductivity, unconventional pairing symmetries, and protected Andreev bound states beyond what is accessible in conventional materials.

PhD Subject:
In 2023, our group demonstrated the first graphene-based Josephson junction operating in the quantum Hall regime2, sustaining supercurrent up to a record magnetic field of 8 T. We showed that, in this extreme regime, the supercurrent is carried by quantum Hall edge states –one-dimensional channels propagating unidirectionally along the sample boundaries— resulting in an unusual chiral supercurrent.
Building on this breakthrough, the proposed PhD project aims to explore more exotic quantum Hall phases coupled to superconductivity, where proximity effects are expected to induce non-conventional superconducting states, such as effective p-wave superconductivity and topological Andreev bound states with non-Abelian properties.
The PhD candidate will develop state-of-the‑art high-mobility graphene van der Waals heterostructures, in which carefully engineered Josephson junctions will be fabricated and equipped with electrostatic gate electrodes. These gates will allow precise tuning of quantum Hall filling factors and control over the trajectories and coupling of edge channels. The project combines advanced nanofabrication and low‑temperature quantum transport with cutting‑edge spectroscopy techniques, including quantum transport measurements down to 10 mK and magnetic fields up to 16 T; High‑field circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) measurements; Microwave spectroscopy to resolve the Andreev spectrum and probe the dynamical properties of hybrid QH–superconductor junctions

Required Skills:

• Strong background in condensed matter physics or quantum physics
• Ability to take initiative and collaborate effectively within an international research team

Applicants must hold a Master’s degree or an equivalent qualification by the application deadline and must not already hold a doctoral degree. Applicants must also comply with the MSCA mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in France for more than 12 months during the 36 months immediately preceding the application deadline. Applicants must not be current employees of the host laboratory. There are no nationality or age restrictions.

Selection process

Applications must be submitted through the QuanG2 online application platform by 7 September 2026 at 12:00 PM (Paris time). After the application deadline, all applications will first undergo an eligibility check. Eligible applications will then be reviewed during the pre‑selection phase, scheduled for mid‑October 2026. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to online interviews at the end of October 2026. Candidates selected following this first interview stage will then be invited to in‑person interviews in Grenoble in early December 2026, with the final selection taking place after these interviews. All candidates will be informed of the outcome of the selection process following the final stage.

Additional comments

About the QuanG2 PhD Call

This PhD position is offered as part of the QuanG2 PhD Call for Applications, a doctoral programme coordinated by Université Grenoble Alpes and dedicated to training the next generation of researchers in quantum science and technology. The programme offers fully funded three‑year PhD positions within the Grenoble quantum research ecosystem, providing doctoral candidates with a high‑level international research environment and dedicated funding for their research and training activities.

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