Research Overview

Trapped-ion quantum computing

Among various quantum computing platforms, trapped-ion-based quantum computing stands out as one of the most promising and mature platforms, offering advantages such as long coherence times, high gate fidelity, and all-to-all connectivity between qubits. Ions are confined within electromagnetic fields, where their internal energy levels serve as qubit states. These states can be precisely manipulated using either microwaves or lasers. The Coulomb repulsion between ions sharing the same potential enables qubit interactions, functioning as a quantum bus to facilitate entanglement. At QuIQCL, we are investigating phenomena within ion traps to enhance our understanding of their behavior and improve their performance.

Ion-trap chip fabrication

Ion-trap-based quantum computers require electrodes to confine ions using electric potential. Additionally, lasers are needed to manipulate the atomic energy levels of ions for quantum operations, which typically require a bulky optical setup.

Both electrodes and optical components can be fabricated at the micro to nanoscale using well-established micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) technology. This approach enhances scalability and enables mass production. Many universities and companies, including our team, are actively advancing ion-trap fabrication technology.

Quantum entanglement

Quantum networks are crucial for realizing secure communication based on the principles of quantum mechanics and developing more powerful quantum computing devices by connecting distributed computing resources. Scalable quantum networks can be realized in a trapped ion system through modular architecture leveraging ion-photon entanglement. Teleportation of quantum information between distant quantum nodes requires a resource called quantum entanglement. To develop large-scale quantum networks, quantum repeaters are essential for generating long-range entanglement through entanglement swapping.

Quantum computing architecture

A well-designed system architecture is essential for building a full-stack quantum computer capable of executing practical quantum algorithms with high fidelity. This includes scheduling physical-level gate operations, defining error correction policies, and transpiling quantum algorithms into the native gate set that can be implemented on real hardware. While these individual topics have been extensively studied by various research groups, the orchestration of these components has received comparatively less attention despite its critical importance.