List’s Florian Kaiser receives €3m grant for quantum technology

List researcher Dr Florian Kaiser has been awarded a €3m ERC Consolidator grant to fund his quantum integration project over five years. His project, called “Q-Chip,” aims to demonstrate that quantum processors and memories can operate simultaneously on a single chip.

Source : delano.lu
Date de publication : 04/12/2024

The head of the Quantum Materials group at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (List) wants to overcome the scalability challenges that exist in the field of quantum technologies. With his Q-Chip project, Dr Florian Kaiser is seeking to demonstrate that quantum processors and memories can operate simultaneously on a single chip. This will enable the evolutionary integration of quantum technology in semiconductors.

To carry out his research, Kaiser has just received an ERC Consolidator grant from the European Research Council for the amount of €3m euros over a period of five years. This year, several grants totalling €678m have been awarded to 328 researchers across the continent, including Kaiser, the only one in Luxembourg. On the other hand, since 2020, eight Luxembourg research projects have received grants from this programme, totalling €15m.

Small systems, but big potential benefits

The researcher’s ambition is to prove that an evolutionary integration of quantum technology into semiconductors is possible. “A major question in modern quantum technology is whether we can combine individual demonstration experiments to create practical applications in the real world,” says Kaiser. According to his initial observations, “theoretical studies suggest that combining quantum memories and processors, for example on a single chip, could enable even small systems to offer significant quantum advantages.” This could represent a relevant advance for setting up a quantum internet, and ultimately quantum computers.

But before that can happen, the researcher and his team will have to demonstrate the feasibility. “We will give priority to hardware development in the first phase of the project,” he explains. Only then will the research team be able to carry out specific calibration experiments and set up a prototype consisting of a quantum processor and a single quantum memory, which can be connected by “entanglement in a photonic network.”

The ultimate aim of the project is to develop a prototype that mimics Apple’s latest ‘M’ line chips, incorporating the processor and memory modules on the same chip. This kind of integration will boost performance and reduce energy consumption, “which is the future of quantum technology: scalable, efficient and practical systems.” Ultimately, the project should represent a major breakthrough, and Europe is well positioned, with 70% of the market share in the silicon carbide industry, a material on which the group of researchers from Luxembourg is working and whose potential can improve the scalability of quantum computing.

A year ago, Kaiser also received the FNR Pearl chair from the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) for his “Aquatsic” project, which aimed to develop a unique quantum computing platform using silicon carbide, the third-generation semiconductor material most widely used in industry. Silicon carbide is already powering electric cars, and the researcher’s aim was to take advantage of these technological advances to develop higher-performance materials for quantum computing.

Maëlle Hamma

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