The SiNQ project (Silicon Nitride for Quantum Computing) aims to develop and establish a UK supply chain for integrated photonic components for trapped ion quantum computers.
The project will design faster and better performing devices to work with the multiple wavelengths of light that are needed for trapped ion quantum computers.
Trapped ions are one of the most promising approaches for building a scalable, useful quantum computer – it involves taking individual atoms, using precisely controlled lasers to remove one of their electrons and to suspend them in space to form qubits, which are then controlled at extremely low error rates using electric fields.
A challenge to scaling this technology to a large number of ions is due to the quantity of bulk optical components required.
As such, the ever-increasing complexity of these optical setups have to become more scalable and compact, which can be achieved using integrated photonics.
