A new UK service will let researchers and companies design and test quantum photonic chips without needing to build their own fabrication plants. Quantum photonic devices use particles of light to perform calculations or transmit information in ways impossible for classical electronics. Currently, making even a prototype chip requires access to expensive cleanroom facilities and deep expertise in semiconductor manufacturing. This creates a barrier: small companies and university groups with good ideas often cannot afford the time or cost to turn them into working devices. QuPIC will provide a complete pipeline—design software, shared wafer runs, automated testing, and packaging—so users can go from concept to a tested device without mastering every step themselves. The multi-project wafer approach, where multiple designs share a single fabrication run, cuts costs dramatically. If successful, this service could accelerate development of quantum technologies for secure communications, high-precision sensing, and specialised computing. It may also help UK industry prototype components for future quantum networks and sensors without the overhead of dedicated manufacturing facilities. The project is primarily an infrastructure and capability-building initiative, not a fundamental science investigation.
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We will establish a UK quantum device prototyping service, focusing on design, manufacture, test, packaging and rapid device prototyping of quantum photonic devices. QuPIC will provide academia and industry with an affordable route to quantum photonic device fabrication through commercial-grade fabrication foundries and access to supporting infrastructure. QuPIC will provide qualified design tools tailored to each foundry's fabrication processes, multiproject wafer access, test and measurement, and systems integration facilities, along with device prototyping capabilities. The aim is to enable greater capability amongst quantum technology orientated users by allowing adopters of quantum photonic technologies to realise advanced integrated quantum photonic devices, and to do so without requiring in-depth knowledge. We will bring together an experienced team of engineers and scientists to provide the required breadth of expertise to support and deliver this service. Four work packages deliver the QuPIC service. They are: WP1 - Design tools for photonic simulation and design software, thermal and mechanical design packages and modelling WP2 - Wafer fabrication - Establishing the qualified component library for the different fabrication processes and materials and offering users a multi-project wafer service WP3 - Integrated device test and measurement - Automated wafer scale electrical and optical characterisation, alignment systems, cryogenic systems to support single-photon detector integration) WP4 - Packaging and prototyping - Tools for subsystem integration into hybrid and functionalised quantum photonic systems and the rapid prototyping of novel, candidate component designs before wafer-scale manufacturing and testing The design tools (WP1) will provide all the core functionality and component libraries to allow users to design quantum circuits, for a range of applications. We will work closely with fabrication foundries (WP2) to qualify the design libraries and to provide affordable access to high-quality devices via a multi-project wafer approach, where many users share the fabrications costs. Specialist test and measurement facilities (WP3) will provide rapid device characterization (at the wafer level), whilst packaging and prototyping tools (WP4) will allow the assembly of subsystems into highly functionalised quantum photonic systems.
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