20 November 2023

QuTech and NQCP partner to develop quantum processors materials

Announcement

QuTech and NQCP have now formalized their collaboration in a partnership agreement. The partnership is centered around the development of silicon-germanium epitaxial heterostructures for quantum processor chips. These materials pave the way for the operation of high-performance quantum processors.

Quantum chip featuring high quality silicon-germanium (SiGe) heterostructures
Example of a quantum chip featuring high quality silicon-germanium (SiGe) heterostructures, similar to the semiconductor-based quantum devices we aim to develop in the partnership. Image credit: Cheeseworks for QuTech.

High-performance qubits require high quality structures. Only with high quality structures can semiconductor-based quantum platforms be made operational to their fullest potential. One promising semiconductor material for such structures (i.e. spin qubits in gate-defined quantum dots) is silicon-germanium (SiGe). QuTech—a collaboration between Delft University of Technology and TNO in Holland—is a world leader in the development of SiGe materials for quantum technologies. Therefore, we are delighted to partner with Giordano Scappucci and his team at QuTech.

The silicon-germanium quantum materials developed by Giordano’s team enable landmark experiments in the field of quantum information and are used by researchers globally for the development of quantum technologies.

To facilitate the collaboration, TU Delft and NQCP have signed an agreement that aims to accelerate the development of an optimal crystalline environment for hosting high-performance semiconductor spin qubits and potentially other semiconductor-based quantum components on a chip.

The agreement includes co-financing of a tool for the epitaxy of group IV materials to be installed at TU Delft and funding for a PhD scholarship. Once hired, the PhD candidate will have their workplace at QuTech under the supervision of Giordano Scappucci and focus on collaborative scientific projects with scientists and engineers at the NQCP Centre Hub and the Quantum Foundry in Copenhagen.

This partnership strengthens the research on spin qubits at NQCP and further expands the collaboration and exchange of ideas between NQCP and QuTech.