Development of Quantum InterConnects for Next-Generation Information Technologies

Understand

Just as classical information technology rests on a foundation built of interconnected information-processing systems, quantum information technology (QIT) must do the same.

• A critical component of such systems is the interconnect, a device or process that allows transfer of information between disparate physical media, for example, semiconductor electronics, individual atoms, light pulses in optical fiber, or microwave fields.
• While interconnects have been well engineered for decades in the realm of classical information technology, quantum interconnects (QuICs) present special challenges, as they must allow the transfer of fragile quantum states between different physical parts or degrees of freedom of the system.
• The diversity of QIT platforms (superconducting, atomic, solid-state color center, optical, etc.) that will form a quantum internet poses additional challenges.