INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY

QUANTUM COMPUTING

By removing a hardware obstacle to faulttolerant quantum computing, Pasqal can demonstrate the trapping of individual atoms using laser light generated by a photonic integrated circuit.

Developed with Aeponyx, the photonics company Pasqal acquired less than 18 months ago, the demonstration moves an important element of qubit control from large optical assemblies onto a chip. Pasqal describes the achievement as a world first and says it could provide a scalable foundation for fault-tolerant quantum computers. at performance levels comparable with Pasqal’ s existing bulk-optics technology. Atom lifetimes reached approximately 27.5 seconds, suggesting that shrinking the optical hardware does not mean compromising qubit-control quality.

“ Building quantum computers that excel commercially means building hardware that delivers industry leading performance and can be manufactured in a scalable way,” said Wasiq Bokhari, CEO, Pasqal.“ By moving qubit control onto a photonic

The programme will now focus on generating, routing and controlling more laser light directly on-chip while scaling the architecture towards systems capable of supporting fault-tolerant quantum computing.

Neutral-atom systems use highly focused laser beams, known as optical tweezers, to trap and manipulate individual atoms that function as qubits. While the approach offers scaling potential, increasing qubit numbers also increases the complexity of the optical infrastructure needed to control them.

That becomes important as Pasqal targets processors containing more than 10,000 atoms and 100 logical qubits. Conventional systems can require free-space optical benches, creating challenges around footprint, manufacturing, reliability and scalability.

Pasqal’ s new architecture tackles that problem by integrating critical optical functions directly onto a photonic chip. During the demonstration, four optical traps were generated through a single chip and used to hold four individual rubidium atoms inside a quantum processing unit.

Testing showed that the integrated architecture could reproduce atom trapping

For Pasqal, the development also demonstrates the strategic value of controlling more of the hardware stack. The Aeponyx acquisition gave the company photonics capabilities that could now help translate neutralchip, we removed what we believe to be one of the biggest barriers to scale – and we did it within 18 months of acquiring Aeponyx. We are very proud of our team for achieving this milestone.”

Aeponyx contributed its expertise in silicon-nitride photonics to the platform, which Pasqal says could reduce the optical footprint of future processors by as much as 50 times. The company also sees integrated photonics as a route towards large-scale manufacturing as quantum technology progresses beyond prototypes. atom technology into smaller, manufacturable systems.

The challenge remains formidable. Faulttolerant quantum computing requires not simply more physical qubits but sufficiently reliable operations and error correction to create useful, logical qubits. Yet reducing the complexity surrounding those qubits is essential to making machines practical.

By replacing sprawling optical infrastructure with integrated photonics, Pasqal is betting that the route to quantum scale will run through the chip. •

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