Faustin Carter Email & Phone Number

Malibu, Ca

Greater Chicago Area

I worked on superconducting photon detector development. My primary focus at Argonne was the instrumentation of the South Pole Telescope's third generation CMB camera, SPT-3G. SPT-3G is a trichroic mm-wave polarimeter with ~16,000 superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) detectors.My research also involved the characterization and development of materials for new types of superconducting microwave electronics, devices, and detectors.From Nov 2017-Jan 2018 I travelled to Antarctica to help install a new focal plane of detectors into the SPT-3G camera on the South Pole Telescope. This was the culmination of three years of detector fabrication and testing with my group at ANL.From Jan 2017-Oct 2017 I managed detector testing for candidate focal-plane wafers for SPT-3G between nine different groups and testing facilities at nine different institutions across the US and Canada. This involved coordinating the assembly and shipment of wafers fabricated at ANL to various institutions, outlining the highest priority testing procedures, collating and feeding the resulting data back into the fabrication process at ANL, and communicating these results to the larger collaboration. This culminated in the selection of ten wafers to be assembled into the final SPT-3G focal plane.From Sept 2015-Jan 2017 I performed materials characterization and wafer testing in support of the SPT-3G detector program. This involved cryogenic measurements at DC and RF, automation of laboratory equipment, software development, and cleanroom fabrication of thin-film devices.I have authored several software packages (Python, LabView, Matlab, Igor, Mathematica) to interface with instruments and collect, analyze, and visualize experimental data. I have also made contributions to both the South Pole Telescope control software (C++), the SPT3G focal plane readout software (Python), and the SPT3G data analysis pipeline (C++/Python).

University Of Chicago

As a Kavli Associate Fellow I collaborate with researchers at University of Chicago on projects involving superconducting electronics, novel photon detectors, and cryogenic measurements. This is closely aligned with my work at ANL.

Design and fabrication of superconducting transition-edge sensors for in-situ detection of individual 15 eV photons arising from the decay of He2* excimers in superfluid helium. Designed and built a superfluid-tight helium chamber (with optical, high-voltage, and DC feedthroughs) and integrated it into a dilution refrigerator cryostat for operation at 10 mK. I used this system to make the first ever direct detection of individual He2* excimers and also measured their energy spectrum.Designed an integrated plasmonic nanoantenna for a superconducting transition edge sensor (TES) operating in the near-IR and visible wavelengths. The resulting detector system is highly polarization sensitive and tunable over a wide wavelength range.Worked on testing and fabrication of planar antenna coupled niobium TESs for THz photon detection. Antenna frequency performance was measured via Fourier-Transform spectroscopy.

Electron-beam lithography performed for Vistec at Yale’s Institute for Quantum and Nano Engineering. Responsibilities cover the full development cycle from initial pattern generation and design through to development and metrology.

X-Ray absorption spectroscopy on meteorites at the LBNL Advanced Light Source Synchrotron, and development of superconducting tunnel-junction (STJ) x-ray detectors.

Development of process to thermally isolate microcalorimeter pixels from substrate by suspending them on platforms using a front-side etching technique. Fabrication and characterization of tantalum superconducting tunnel junction x-ray detectors for low energy (0-2keV) synchrotron radiation.

Hayward, Ca

Selected as a member of the competitive leadership training program for General Electric's supply division, I systematically worked through every non-management position at the company from picking at the warehouse to field trips with outside sales. I worked at two locations:Hayward, CA: Wrote several pieces of software to interface reporting with the warehouse inventory database and automate workflows for employees. Bakersfield, CA: Worked with GE Supply and GE Wind Energy to resolve several million dollars worth of billing disputes resulting from incompatible computer systems between the two divisions.Left to pursue a career in research science.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Physics

Activities and Societies: Graduate Student Assembly (Vice Chair)

Master Of Science (Ms), Physics, 3.97/4.0

Bachelor Of Science (Bs), Industrial Engineering, 3.28/4.0

Activities and Societies: Varsity Nordic Ski Team, Sigma Chi Fraternity

Semester Exchange Program