Can we deliver a Quantum Computer that can perform a trillion operations by 2035? This is the mission we received from the UK’s government 1 year ago. There has been a lot of prototype development of qubit technologies (i.e. semiconductors, superconductors, ions,photonics etc.), however scaling up Qubit numbers to millions is a huge challenge. This is because of the extreme cryogenic conditions required for operating Qubits. This challenge will precisely be addressed by this project, by delivering CMOS-compatible qubits [1-3] operating at higher temperatures [4], something than can significantly relax current scalability constraints.

The vision of this project is to develop and deliver the next generation of Quantum Processors (QP) operating at frequencies well above >100GHz, and thus at temperatures>4K. At the moment, one of the main technical scalability problems of quantum hardware (i.e superconducting and semiconducting) is the limited capacity power of low-temperature instruments. Through this project, we will create on-chip components and qubits that can
operate at 4K, temperature that makes qubit scalability easier. This project aims to address current technical scalability problems by pushing this technology from milli-Kelvin temperatures to 4K, a target that will significantly increase the number of qubits within a QP and additionally reduce the overall cost per qubit, as systems operating at 4K are indeed cheaper to manufacture and operate.

Through this project, we will engineer Semiconductor Qubits based on Silicon/Germanium CMOS-compatible platform. The project will involve, extensive nanofabrication at the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre and advanced high-frequency THz characterisation of these semiconductor qubits, as well as control integration. The experimental work, will be complemented by numerical simulations with quantum semiconductor packages, where the PhD candidate can choose to have a 2-month placement at one of my partners in Munich, Nextnano to learn the numerical tools.