Quantum Information Processing with Atomically Thin Semiconductors

Project Information

QUIPATS

Grant agreement ID: 101023276

DOI

10.3030/101023276

Project closed

EC signature date 17 March 2021

Start date 1 May 2021

End date 30 April 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 162 806,40

EU contribution

€ 162 806,40

Coordinated by

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - QUIPATS (Quantum Information Processing with Atomically Thin Semiconductors)

Reporting period: 2021-05-01 to 2023-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Quantum technologies have the potential to transform modern communication and information processing. Quantum technologies make use of the laws of quantum mechanics to improve over technologies based on classical physics that we experience in everyday life. Two important examples are quantum key distribution and quantum computation: The former enables provably secure communication while the latter can solve certain hard problems that are intractable with conventional computers.

Despite tremendous recent progress, the commercialization of quantum technologies remains in its infancy. The key challenge is to protect the extremely fragile quantum states from detrimental noise. There exist many competing platforms aiming to overcome this hurdle, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. In the project QUIPATS, I explored how two-dimensional semiconductors may address some limitations of current approaches. Two-dimensional semiconductors are materials composed of one or few layers of atoms. They interact strongly with light, which renders them promising candidates for interfaces that receive, manipulate, and transmit quantum information.

The objectives of QUIPATS were to develop software and theoretical tools to model the optical properties of two-dimensional semiconductors. These tools were then applied to design novel optical devices in collaboration with experimental researchers at Harvard University. The findings highlight the promise of two-dimensional semiconductors for a wide range of quantum technological applications.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

As part of QUIPATS, I created a software package to accurately predict the optical response of two-dimensional semiconductors embedded in an arbitrary stack of layered media. Results from the software guided the design of a beam-steering device fabricated by collaborating researchers at Harvard University. In addition, I developed novel algorithms to compute the dynamics of complex quantum many-body systems, which may serve to study the nonlinear optical response of two-dimensional semiconductors.

The findings were published in two peer-reviewed articles in the journals Nature Communications and PRX Quantum with full open access. I also presented the results at multiple conferences and seminars in Europe and the USA.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project produced powerful tools to model two-dimensional semiconductors. The photonics software package outperforms commercial software based on finite-element methods by instead employing a scattering theory formalism tailored to layered media. The novel algorithms for quantum dynamics achieve a better complexity-theoretical scaling than all previously known algorithms. The results contribute to our understanding of quantum many-body physics and drive forward the development of quantum optical devices, which are key to building quantum communication networks and quantum computers. The insights may find use in the commercialization of quantum technologies, which is the goal of a growing industrial effort that includes start-up companies and established technology companies. If successful, these efforts may have a large societal impact by, for instance, enabling currently intractable computations that aid the design of novel materials for affordable and sustainable technologies.

Device used to steer light at the nanosecond time scale.