The Quantum Device Theory group led by IQC
faculty member Dr. Frank Wilhelm will be sharing in a multi-institution grant
to fund research into advanced materials for superconducting qubits.
The grant, funded by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA),
an initiative of the United States government, will benefit experimental groups
at Syracuse University, IBM and University of California-Irvine, in addition
to the IQC group. The project is a collaborative effort between materials scientists
and physicists to investigate how to produce solid materials that are as free
from imperfections as possible.
Dr. Wilhelm will receive $100,000 USD a year for up to five years to support
his work modeling Josephson junctions – a key component of integrated
circuits for quantum computing.
Josephson junctions are composed of two layers of superconducting material
separated by a thin layer of an insulator. Dr. Wilhelm’s group works to
create very detailed models of imperfections and noise in this insulating layer.
Imperfections in solid materials are a limiting factor for progress in advancing
hardware for quantum computation, as they restrict the length of computations
that can be performed. By limiting the imperfections, researchers can increase
the coherence time of computations.
“Quantum information is very sensitive to noise, and I am glad that we
can work with top materials scientists to solve this problem,” Dr. Wilhelm
said.
Founded in 2002, the mission of the Institute for Quantum Computing(IQC) is
to aggressively explore and advance the application of quantum mechanical systems
to a vast array of relevant information processing techniques.
A part of the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ont., Canada, IQC creates a
truly unique environment fostering cutting-edge research and collaboration between
researchers in the areas of computer, engineering, mathematical and physical
sciences.
At the time of this release, IQC has 17 faculty members, 22 postdoctoral fellows
and over 55 students and research assistants, as well as a support staff of
18.
The Institute for Quantum Computing acknowledges the support of the Government
of Canada through Industry Canada and the Government of Ontario through the
Ministry of Research and Innovation.
Posted September 23rd, 2009
