Silicon Quantum Technologies

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The potential of quantum technology is fueling intense research worldwide. In 2019 the world observed a 53-qubit standalone quantum computer, eclipsing the computing power of the world's top supercomputer. Yet there remains a chasm between today's state-of-the-art capabilities, across dozens of physical platforms, and useful quantum computation. Networks of quantum computers unleash exponentially more capacity than the sum of their parts, and given expected environmental constraints, will be easier to build than monolithic quantum supercomputers. Eventually, quantum computers will be networked over global quantum telecommunication fibre optics, but there is no consensus on the quantum hardware interface that will unlock this ambitious objective. Rather, there is a fierce effort underway to prototype an ideal quantum interface between long-lived material-based qubits suitable for quantum computing, and telecommunications-band photons suitable for quantum networking. The world's foremost computing and telecommunications technologies are silicon-based, yet it was widely assumed that silicon does not have the requisite quantum interfaces necessary to make an all-silicon quantum internet. Dr. Simmons' recent work disproved this notion by producing and characterizing a silicon matter-telecom photon interface of the highest quality. Next, her team will deploy these matter-photon interfaces into real quantum devices and prove that they can underpin the quantum computation and communication technologies of the future.Specific objectives are to: 1) establish and improve the fidelity of single-qubit operations beyond quantum error-correction thresholds; 2) develop and demonstrate working multi-qubit entangling operations through the photonic interactions that these spin-photon interfaces provide; and 3) pursue new opportunities in the unexplored space of silicon colour centres for quantum information networks.A quantum internet will offer revolutionary capabilities that are otherwise impossible. The spectrum of future applications is likely beyond our current collective imaginations. Dr. Simmons' CRC research program will allow her to train future quantum leaders, build on her achievements, collaborations and infrastructure, and leverage a rare first-mover global competitive advantage and decades of silicon manufacturing R&D. If successful, this work may lead to a broad coalescence of research efforts toward a common quantum hardware dominant design.