Four Quantum Technology grants for TU/e quantum projects

January 18, 2024

Funding for the projects comes from Quantum Delta NL in collaboration with NWO.

Photo: iStockphoto (Bartlomiej Wroblewski)

Quantum proof security systems, optical tweezer arrays, quantum key distribution, and quantum computers based on neutral atoms are the topics covered in the four TU/e projects funded within the National Growth Fund (NGF) programme Quantum Technology, carried out by NWO in collaboration with Quantum Delta NL. And the researchers from all four funded projects are part of the Eindhoven Hendrik Casimir Institute (EHCI), the TU/e institute driving innovative research in photonics, electronics, and quantum technology.

The goal of Quantum Delta NL (QDNL) and NWO is to realize the much-needed scientific and technological breakthroughs in the field of quantum technology such as quantum sensing applications, quantum computing, and quantum networking.

As part of the 2023 funding call, almost 10.4 million euros was granted to 19 projects in the Netherlands. QDNL has reserved a total of 42 million euros for research and innovation over a period of seven years.

TU/e’s fourfold success

Of the nineteen successful projects, four are based at TU/e, with all researchers involved strongly connected with the Eindhoven Hendrik Casimir Institute (EHCI), The institute was officially launched in 2021, and is exploring the very latest in photonics and quantum technologies.

The four successful TU/e projects cover a wide range of topics related to the world of quantum. More information on these projects is available at the end of this article.

Quantum computing with neutral atoms

For her project AtomCOMP, Aida Todri-Sanial will explore quantum computers that are based on neutral atoms. A neutral atom is an atom that has an equal number of protons and electrons, which means that it is not charged. In quantum computers it’s important to cool the atoms used to store data as so-called qubits to very low temperatures. As it turns out, it’s easier to cool neutral atoms and easier to work with more neutral atoms than charged atoms.

Optical tweezers

An optical tweezer is a laser beam that can hold an atom, sort of like how a tweezer can grab a small object. When it comes to storing information in atoms in quantum computers, optical tweezers are very much needed. For their project, Oded Raz and Edgar Vredenbregt plan to enhance the capabilities of optical tweezers.

High-speed quantum key distribution

In the future it’s quite likely that you’ll send information with a little help from quantum key distribution (QKD), which is the secure sharing of information using secret keys that is based on quantum mechanics. For his funded project, Idelfonso Tafur Monroy wants to develop the first all-integrated, high-speed QKD transmitter.

Quantum proof security systems

There’s a lot of positivity out there with regards to quantum computers, but there are drawbacks when it comes to the success of quantum computing developments, one of which is that our current security systems can be broken with a large-scale quantum computer. For their project Extensions of Post-quantum CryptograpHy and Algorithms or EPOCHAL for short, Tanja Lange and Kathrin Hövelmanns want to design replacements for our current security systems.

Motivating for researchers

Servaas Kokkelmans, who is full professor at the Applied Physics and Science Education (APSE) department of TU/e and chair of the NWO Quantum Assessment Committee recognizes the importance of the Quantum Technology grants.

“The second Quantum Technology call was a great success. The successful proposals are spread across various areas of expertise in and application of quantum technology, and they all feed into the three catalyst projects of QDNL ,” says Kokkelmans. “Both the quality of the proposals and the success rate are very high. This is very motivating for the researchers and will significantly increase their involvement with QDNL.”

MORE INFORMATION ON THE TU/E QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY GRANTS

Quantum computing with neutral atoms

Aida Todri-Sanial’s awarded project concerns quantum computers that are based on neutral atoms, and the title of the project is AtomCOMP. Neutral atoms promise better scalability, an easy cooling environment, and flexible placement of qubits. This allows for multiple qubit operations and the parallelism of quantum operations. Most design methodologies – such as compile, synthesize, and fault mitigation – are primarily focused on superconducting qubits. Specific circuit design methods that exploit and support the potential of the neutral atom quantum architecture are still largely unexplored. The project AtomCOMP addresses this by developing a new hybrid compilation framework that combines qubit mapping and pulse optimization at the circuit level. This allows AtomCOMP to take advantage of multi-qubit operations.

Optical tweezers

Oded Raz and Edgar Vredenbregt have been awarded funding to explore ‘optical tweezers’, which is a laser beam that can hold on to an atom, much like a tweezer can grab a small object. Such ‘optical tweezers’ are an essential part of a new type of computer that uses quantum mechanics to speed up calculations. Quantum computers that use atoms to process information are still in their infancy and to reach maturity will need a larger atomic register. In this work, techniques from photonics are combined with atomic physics to solve this problem by greatly expanding the capabilities of optical tweezers.

High-speed quantum key distribution

Idelfonso Tafur Monroy and his team have received a Quantum Technology grant to develop the first all-integrated, high-speed quantum key distribution (QKD) transmitter that can support discrete variable protocols such as measurement-device-independent QKD protocols. Achieving this ambitious objective requires deep synergies between techniques based on quantum communication and photonic integration technology. The outcome, a QKD transmitter on chip, will integrate the necessary optical components needed to support multi-protocol QKD implementations. When combined with integrated single-photon detectors, this proposed QKD system on chip, will pave the way to successfully integrate QKD into future quantum communication networks.

Quantum proof security systems

Tanja Lange along with her co-applicant Kathrin Hövelmanns have been awarded a grant for their project EPOCHAL – which stands for Extensions of Post-quantum CryptograpHy and Algorithms. While many projects on developing quantum computing highlight the benefits that such computers can bring, the EPOCHAL project deals with the fallout of this success: currently used security systems can be broken with a large-scale quantum computer and new systems are required to replace them. Unfortunately, secure replacements are not readily available for all situations. The EPOCHAL project will design and analyze replacements and investigate and build functionalities needed for integrating these in bigger systems.

About Quantum Delta NL

Quantum Delta NL works on the development of quantum hardware and software, talent and ecosystem development, and societal impact. With the allocation of 615 million euros from the National Growth Fund in April 2021, Quantum Delta NL is rolling out a programme with three catalyst (CAT) programmes and four action lines.

In CAT-1, work is being done on Quantum Inspire, the first public European quantum computer in the cloud.

In the CAT-2 programme, the foundation is being laid for the next generation of digital infrastructure in the Netherlands, and a quantum internet network is being developed.

In CAT-3, companies and knowledge institutes are working together on development of the technology and applications of quantum sensing.

In addition, the programme includes action lines on all links of the ecosystem: research and innovation (Action Line 1), entrepreneurship and ecosystem development (Action Line 2), talent (Action Line 3) and societal impact (Action Line 4). The current call implements Action Line 1 – Research and Innovation.

Quantum Delta NL's mission is to further strengthen the thriving Dutch quantum ecosystem into the most relevant for Europe. The organisation was established in 2019 to implement the National Agenda Quantum Technology. In 2021, Quantum Delta NL's proposal received full honours from the National Growth Fund.

About the National Growth Fund

Through the National Growth Fund, the government will invest 20 billion euros in projects that ensure long-term economic growth from 2021 to 2025.

Among other things, the National Growth Fund invests in research, development, and innovation projects. In a number of these projects, NWO is involved as one of the implementing organisations, including for organising grant programmes for scientific research or scientific talent. Read more: https://www.nwo.nl/en/researchprogrammes/national-growth-fund