Project description
High-performance, low-cost amplifiers to boost quantum technologies
Weak signals are the backbone of various technologies including quantum computing and radio astronomy, yet amplifying these signals without adding disruptive noise is challenging. Current quantum-limited amplifiers add minimal noise. However, current methods rely on slow, expensive techniques such as electron-beam lithography, making them hard to scale and costly to produce. The ERC-funded QuAMP project will use deep ultraviolet lithography – a proven industrial process – to create better-performing, lower-cost, and mass-producible amplifiers. These high-performance, low-noise amplifiers will pave the way for more accessible and advanced quantum technologies.
Objective
Amplifiers are essential in science and technology – they are needed to overcome the detection threshold of sensors, like antennas, detectors or even our ears. When a signal is weak or generated at a distance, amplification becomes necessary. However, amplification adds noise, and if noise exceeds the signal, detection becomes impossible or needs heavy post-processing, limiting applications that rely on weak signals or high sensitivity. Over the last century, amplifiers have evolved to reduce noise, from vacuum tubes to transistors. More recently, quantum technologies exploiting the laws of quantum mechanics to outperform their classic counterparts, have emerged. In this fast-growing field, traditional
low-noise amplifiers still add too much noise and do not suit scalable cryogenic platforms. Quantum-limited microwave amplifiers, which add minimal noise, are key instruments in quantum computing, radio astronomy, and particle physics.
Despite their central importance, the availability of quantum-limited amplifiers remains severely constrained by fabrication complexity, limited reproducibility, and poor scalability. Current commercially available traveling-wave parametric amplifiers (TWPAs) rely predominantly on electron-beam lithography, a slow and costly technique incompatible with large-scale production and industrial deployment. This represents a fundamental bottleneck in the democratization and technological
maturation of quantum-limited microwave amplification.
This project proposes a novel fabrication method using Deep Ultraviolet Lithography (DUV) – an industry-standard, scalable process – to produce better-performing TWPAs at lower cost and larger volumes. By using DUV, the goal is to create high-performance amplifiers with minimal noise, pushing the boundaries of quantum-limited amplification and enhancing high gain with the aim to have a ready-for-market TWAP by the project's end.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-POC
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1015 LAUSANNE
Switzerland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.