A UK consortium is building a factory line to mass-produce the core component of future quantum networks: compact ion traps that link light particles to atoms. Quantum networks promise secure communications, enhanced sensors, and distributed computing, but they require nodes that can transfer quantum information between photons (which travel long distances) and stationary atomic systems (which store and process it). Trapped ions are among the best platforms for this, but they are currently built one at a time in research labs. This project aims to turn them into commodity components. ColdQuanta UK will commission a vacuum processing station to manufacture compact ion-trap systems at scale. The University of Oxford will design network-capable traps, and Oxford Lasers will develop micro-machining processes for signal delivery. A quality-assurance station will measure critical metrics like motional heating rates. If successful, the UK will gain a domestic supply chain for a key quantum-network building block, reducing reliance on foreign suppliers and positioning British companies as global manufacturers of these systems. The immediate impact is on national security and industrial capacity, not on everyday consumer devices.
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Quantum technologies will revolutionise sensing, secure communications, and computing. A compelling vision for this technology is a network of quantum enhanced devices, combining the capability of each constituent node, and extending the range over which they operate. To exploit this upcoming technological revolution and to maintain its national security, the UK must cement its position as a global technology leader by building the capacity to manufacture critical components for future quantum networks. This project develops the core of what will be a sizeable and fully domestic supply chain for quantum networks. Photonic interconnects are the optimal route to quantum networks as photons can be transmitted over long distances whilst maintaining their quantum properties. A critical component of quantum networks will be nodes that can interface between photons and atomic systems. Trapped ions are one of the most promising platforms for quantum computing, sensing and atomic clocks, and have yielded the best quantum logic operations to date. The fact that these systems can also conveniently interface with single photons via a range of optical transitions makes them exceptionally well-suited for quantum networking. LINQED (Linked Ion traps for Networked Quantum Entanglement Distribution) will enable the UK to become a global supplier of compact ion-trap systems which will become commodity components for existing and future quantum networks. This will be achieved by commissioning a novel vacuum processing station at ColdQuanta UK, which will enable the production of compact ion-trap systems. Network capable ion traps will be developed and fabricated by world leaders in quantum networking at the Ion Trap Quantum Computing group at the University of Oxford. World experts in micro-machining Oxford Lasers will develop processes for integrating signal delivery which are vital for scalability. All three partners are working together on related projects and via this proposal we aim to strengthen our partnership and create further business opportunities for both companies. A state-of-the-art quality assurance station will be developed for system performance characterisation. This will enable comprehensive characterisation of ion trap systems, providing metrics such as motional heating rate which are of critical importance for quantum 2.0 technologies. The outcomes of this project will enable the UK to become a world-leader in manufacturing of critical quantum systems which have sufficient SWAP to be utilised as a core component of existing and future quantum networks.
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