A single chip that generates, routes, and detects individual particles of light could replace room-sized quantum optics experiments with a device small enough to hold in your hand. Today’s quantum technologies rely on bulky, fragile laboratory setups that are impractical outside research labs. This programme tackles the core engineering challenge: integrating photon sources, waveguides, switches, and detectors—along with the cryogenic electronics they need—onto a single platform. The team will develop ultra-low-loss optical components and combine them with superconducting detectors and semiconductor single-photon sources, all while designing error-tolerant architectures that work under real-world constraints. If successful, the work could produce portable quantum-enhanced spectrometers that beat the classical shot-noise limit, multi-node quantum key distribution networks with repeaters for unlimited-range secure communication, and fault-tolerant quantum processors operating with 10 qubits—providing a clear roadmap toward 1,000-qubit cluster-state computers. These are not abstract demonstrations; they are application-specific demonstrators in communications, sensing, and information processing. The project is applied fundamental science: it builds the engineering knowledge to turn quantum phenomena into practical devices, much as integrated circuits turned transistors into computers.
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The description of the laws of quantum mechanics saw a transformation in society's understanding of the physical world-for the first time we understood the rules that govern the counterintuitive domain of the very small. Rather than being just passive observers now scientists are using these laws to their advantage and quantum phenomena are providing us with methods of improved measurement and communication; furthermore they promise a revolution in the way materials are simulated and computations are performed. Over the last decade significant progress has been made in the application of quantum phenomena to meeting these challenges. This "Engineering Photonic Quantum Technologies" Programme Grant goes significantly beyond previous achievements in the quantum technology field. Through a series of carefully orchestrated work packages that develop the underlying materials, systems engineering, and theory we will develop the knowledge and skills that enable us to create application demonstrators with significant academic and societal benefit. For the first time in quantum technologies we are combining materials and device development and experimental work with the important theoretical considerations of architectures and fault tolerant approaches. Our team of investigators and partners have the requisite expertise in materials, individual components, their integration, and the underpinning theory that dictates the optimal path to achieving the programme goals in the presence of real-world constraints. Through this programme we will adopt the materials systems most capable of providing application specific solutions in each of four technology demonstrations focused on quantum communications, quantum enhanced sensing, the construction of a multiplexed single-photon source and information processing systems that outperform modern classical analogues. To achieve this, our underlying technology packages will demonstrate very low optical-loss waveguides which will be used to create the necessary 'toolbox' of photonic components such as splitters, delays, filters and switches. We will integrate these devices with superconducting and semiconducting single-photon detector systems and heralded single-photon sources to create an integrated source+circuit+detector capability that becomes the basis for our technology demonstrations. We address the challenge of integrating these optical elements (in the necessary low-temperature environment) with the very low latency classical electronic control systems that are required of detection-and-feedforward schemes such as multiplexed photon-sources and cluster-state generation and computation. At all times a thorough analysis of the performance of all these elements informs our work on error modelling and fault tolerant designs; these then inform all aspects of the technology demonstrators from inception, through decisions on the optimal materials choices for a system, to the layout of a circuit on a wafer. With these capabilities we will usher in a disruptive transformation in ICT. We will demonstrate mutli-node quantum key distribution (QKD) networks, high-bit rate QKD systems with repeaters capable of spanning unlimited distances. Our quantum enhanced sensing will surpass the classical shot noise limit and see the demonstration of portable quantum-enhanced spectroscopy system. And our quantum information processors will operate with 10-qubits in a fault tolerant scheme which will provide the roadmap to 1,000 qubit cluster state computing architectures.
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