Education on Joe Wiedemann

Doctor of Philosophy

Sun, 15 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Dissertation Research

Princeton University
Anticipated Defense: December 2026

My thesis work has been in operationalizing sub-GHz Kinetic Inductance Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifiers (KI-TWPAs) for the Princeton Axion Search (PXS). PXS is laboratory-scale search for a dark matter particle candidate, the axion, at mass ranges the correspond to the transitional region between lumped-element and cavity haloscope search techniques.

This search range poses unique challenges in developing quantum-limited readout schemes. Existing high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) amplifiers do not have sufficent noise characteristics in this frequency range, however KI-TWPAs are an emergent technology that has the capacity to meet the quantum-limited needs. Recent improvements in the KI-TWPA designs make it feasible to integrate these amplifiers in Dilution Refrigerator environments. We work in close collaboration with fabrication to improve the design stack. Our efforts with these amplifiers have demonstrated new state of the art performance for gain and noise measurement in the sub-GHz regime. Some of the work we provide in this effort is custom cabling that achieves greater gain and bandwidth through improved impedance matching, designing lumped-elemet microwave filters made from superconducting traces, and noise-temperature measurement techniques that provide the necessary precision to make measurements approaching the standard quantum limit.

Master of Arts

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Master of Arts in Physics

Princeton University
Awarded: January 2023

Early graduate work constructed a novel experiment to create new electric field sensitivity standard using time separated fields on Cesium Rydberg atoms.

Specialty Coursework

Digital and Analog electronics, based on The Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill, I took and was the lab assitant for courses that spanned digital logic from the transistor, through flip-flops and logic gates, to basic FPGA demonstrations. In the analog coursework, we covered OP-Amps, feedback systems, and creating constant voltage or current sources.

Bachelor of Science

Fri, 28 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Bachelor of Science in Physics, with Honors

United States Naval Academy
Graduated: May 2021

Completed undergraduate studies at the United States Naval Academy with a focus on fundamentals of physics research, tabletop optics, and simulating open quantum systems. Because the Naval Academy is exclusively an undergraduate institution, I was able to get involved with research as early as the spring semester of my first year. Summer trainings that were a part of my education provided meaningful opportunities to see the challenges of integrating emergent technologies in real applications.