IGNITE - Integrated germanium quantum technology

Project description

Germanium qubits hold promise for practical quantum computers

Long regarded as silicon’s counterpart for making chips, germanium has awakened researchers’ interest, this time in the realm of quantum computing. Developed only five years ago, germanium spin qubits have already become the most advanced platform in semiconductor quantum technology. The execution of four-qubit algorithms and the demonstration of scalable control with a 16-quantum dot array underpin germanium’s potential for large-scale quantum computers. The EU-funded IGNITE project will bring together all the partners who enabled these advances. The aim is to demonstrate that germanium is a compelling platform for quantum computations by building quantum processors with more than 1 000 qubits.

Objective

Spin qubits in germanium have resulted in the most advanced semiconductor quantum processor. Within five years of development, germanium qubits are established as a highly promising candidate for large-scale quantum computing. Germanium is a standard semiconductor manufacturing material and germanium qubits are the only semiconductor qubits that are defined exclusively by transistor-based structures and has enabled to demonstrate a universal quantum gate set [Hen20]. This is highly promising for scalability and adoption by leading semiconductor technology. A revolution in the growth of strained germanium sparked a remarkable development which led to the first germanium quantum dot, germanium qubit, two-qubit logic in germanium, four-qubit logic in a two-dimensional array, and operation of a 16 quantum dot array. This program brings together all the partners that enabled these developments to form a consortium with leading scientists and industry, to fulfil the promise of germanium quantum technology, by scaling the number of qubits, by designing architectures allowing to advance beyond 1000s of qubits, and by experimentally implementing a computational task that can provide a quantum advantage. The key objective of Integrated Germanium Quantum Technology (IGNITE) is thus to demonstrate that germanium defines a compelling platform for quantum computation with excellent qubits operating in a scalable network. We therefore focus on four key components to demonstrate its success: