Quantum state control & manipulation - development of quantum computer hardware

Project funded by Swedish Research Council (Project grant), grant 2016-04375_VR. Participating organisations named by the source: Lund University. Funded amount: SEK 2,475,000, as stated by the source. Runs 2016-01-01 to 2018-12-31. Keywords: Naturvetenskap, Natural Sciences, Fysik, Physical Sciences, Atom- och molekylfysik och optik, Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics. Source: OpenAIRE Graph, from the funder's project data (collected by OpenAIRE on 2025-12-05); national funding data, not CORDIS. Abstract given by the source: We develop quantum computer hardware based on rare-earth-ion doped crystals and have introduced techniques for creating, controlling and characterizing superposition and entangled states in these crystals.Presently we develop techniques to reliably read out the quantum states of individual ions in the crystals, a key step for creating and characterizing gradually more complex quantum computer hardware. Our narrowband lasers and the tools and techniques we have developed and tested for optical pumping and spectral tailoring of the absorption profiles over many years in these crystals is a unique key asset in identifying quantum states of the individual ions.As part of our quantum computing project we have developed methods to reduce the speed of light in the crystals by 3-5 orders of magnitude. These slow light materials have unique properties which most surprisingly can be useful for tasks as different as optical imaging of oxygenation levels in tissue and time and frequency standards!! We will further investigate the remarkable properties of these slow light materials.The experiments are highly challenging but at the same time technically and scientifically inspiring. A typical experiment involves hundreds of optical pulses where our highly stabilized laser system accurately controls the ion wave functions. Many students approach us for diploma works and the projects constitute excellent educational environment for graduate students and postdocs.

Original source.

Source: OpenAIRE Graph: projects of national funders, OpenAIRE, from the project data of Swedish Research Council. Retrieved 2026-10-22. Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (OpenAIRE Graph). Selected metadata, adapted presentation; the publisher's record is authoritative. No endorsement by the source is implied. Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).

AI-assisted summary: The project, funded by the Swedish Research Council, focuses on developing quantum computer hardware using rare-earth-ion doped crystals from 2016 to 2018. It aims to create, control, and characterize quantum states, enhancing techniques for reading individual ions. Suggested technology pillar: computing. Generated by AI from the public source text; it may contain errors and the original source is authoritative.