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Within the SPOC project, Fraunhofer IZM and Akhetonics are working on a fully optical quantum processor to make it more efficient and scalable with advanced packaging and interconnection technologies for its optical components.
Conventional computers rely on electrical signals. The optical processors made by Akhetonics work differently: they process data with the power of light. Photons allow far higher bandwidths and data rates compared to electrons, potentially making the Akhetonics processors not just far more powerful, but also more energy-efficient by a factor of up to 60.
Quantum computing works differently compared to conventional computers. In the place of bits as basic information units, it uses different quantum mechanical states of so-called qubits. In photonic quantum computers there are single photons themselves that act as qubits.
However photonic packaging and interconnection is extremely intricate and complex. For this reason, the optical computers that have been built so far all relied on a combination of electronic and photonic components.
All-optical quantum computing now seems within reach. Its viability has been shown in experiments, using often unwieldy, large-scale rigs. As in the early days of PCs, their evolution will now follow the way of miniaturization, optimization and standardization. To reach these challenging goals new packaging solutions for the integrated optics are required.
Packaging and interconnection as key technologies
Within the SPOC (Scalable Packaging for All-Optical CV Quantum Computing) project, the Berlin-based startup Akhetonics GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM are working together to develop and assemble an integration bench on a basis of thin glass that promises scalable packaging for purely optical quantum computing.
The secret lies in the hybrid integration of different optical materials on a single platform. Different optical components all have specific skills and strengths for specific applications. Combining these specialized parts could make photonic systems more powerful and more versatile. But they also come with their own requirements for the integration process.
This is where Fraunhofer IZM comes into the game with its treasure trove of experience with packaging and interconnection for optical systems and practical know-how from past research projects. The proposed solution relies on a glass-based interposer that is structured in a highly precise manner by selective laser etching. The interposer is then assembled with optical chips that are coupled to optical fibers by photonic wire bonding. This technology works like an extremely precise 3D printer that connects the optical components using tiny polymer structures that can carry light waves. The technology increases coupling efficiency by 50% when compared to a direct fiber-to-chip connection.
Akhetonics GmbH will integrate the interposer into its hardware and subject it to thorough testing, which can include the first actual computing operations. In a careful iterative process, this will lead to the construction of the first exclusively optical quantum processor.
The SPOC started on 1 July 2024 and is scheduled to run until the end of 2026, supported by 400,000 Euros in funding from the Investitionsbank Berlin IBB as part of its Pro FIT project funding (project ID: 10206870). The project partners are Fraunhofer IZM and Akhetonics GmbH.
(Text: Steffen Schindler)
Dr. Wojciech Lewoczko-Adamczyk l Phone +49 30 46403-7925 l wojciech.lewoczko-adamczyk@izm.fraunhofer.de l
Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM l Gustav-Meyer-Allee 25 l 13355 Berlin l www.izm.fraunhofer.de
https://www.izm.fraunhofer.de/en/news_events/tech_news/spoc.html
Two optical fibers linked with a photonic wire bond. The polymer structure is only 300 μm in size.
Copyright: Fraunhofer IZM
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Two optical fibers linked with a photonic wire bond. The polymer structure is only 300 μm in size.
Copyright: Fraunhofer IZM
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