The quantum technologies roadmap: a European community view
Antonio Acín, Immanuel Bloch, Harry Buhrman, Tommaso Calarco, Christopher Eichler, Jens Eisert, Daniel Esteve, Nicolas Gisin, Steffen J. Glaser, Fedor Jelezko, Stefan Kuhr, Maciej Lewenstein, Max F. Riedel, Piet O. Schmidt, Rob Thew, Andreas J. Wallraff, Ian A. Walmsley, Frank K. Wilhelm
Within the last two decades, quantum technologies (QT) have made tremendous progress, moving from Nobel Prize award-winning experiments on quantum physics (1997: Chu, Cohen-Tanoudji, Phillips; 2001: Cornell, Ketterle, Wieman; 2005: Hall, Hänsch-, Glauber; 2012: Haroche, Wineland) into a cross-disciplinary field of applied research. Technologies are being developed now that explicitly address individual quantum states and make use of the 'strange' quantum properties, such as superposition and entanglement. The field comprises four domains: quantum communication, where individual or entangled photons are used to transmit data in a provably secure way; quantum simulation, where well-controlled quantum systems are used to reproduce the behaviour of other, less accessible quantum systems; quantum computation, which employs quantum effects to dramatically speed up certain calculations, such as number factoring; and quantum sensing and metrology, where the high sensitivity of coherent quantum systems to external perturbations is exploited to enhance the performance of measurements of physical quantities. In Europe, the QT community has profited from several EC funded coordination projects, which, among other things, have coordinated the creation of a 150-page QT Roadmap ( http://qurope.eu/h2020/qtflagship/roadmap2016 ). This article presents an updated summary of this roadmap.
Within the last two decades, quantum technologies (QT) have made tremendous progress, moving from Nobel Prize award-winning experiments on quantum physics (1997: Chu, Cohen-Tanoudji, Phillips; 2001: Cornell, Ketterle, Wieman; 2005: Hall, Hänsch-, Glauber; 2012: Haroche, Wineland) into a cross-disciplinary field of applied research. Technologies are being developed now that explicitly address individual quantum states and make use of the 'strange' quantum properties, such as superposition and entanglement. The field comprises four domains: quantum communication, where individual or entangled photons are used to transmit data in a provably secure way; quantum simulation, where well-controlled quantum systems are used to reproduce the behaviour of other, less accessible quantum systems; quantum computation, which employs quantum effects to dramatically speed up certain calculations, such as number factoring; and quantum sensing and metrology, where the high sensitivity of coherent quantum systems to external perturbations is exploited to enhance the performance of measurements of physical quantities. In Europe, the QT community has profited from several EC funded coordination projects, which, among other things, have coordinated the creation of a 150-page QT Roadmap ( http://qurope.eu/h2020/qtflagship/roadmap2016 ). This article presents an updated summary of this roadmap.
Recently, the European Commission supported by many European countries has announced large investments towards the commercialization of quantum technology (QT) to address and mitigate some of the biggest challenges facing today's digital era - e.g. secure communication and computing power. For more than two decades the QT community has been working on the development of QTs, which promise landmark breakthroughs leading to commercialization in various areas. The ambitious goals of the QT community and expectations of EU authorities cannot be met solely by individual initiatives of single countries, and therefore, require a combined European effort of large and unprecedented dimensions comparable only to the Galileo or Copernicus programs. Strong international competition calls for a coordinated European effort towards the development of QT in and for space, including research and development of technology in the areas of communication and sensing. Here, we aim at summarizing the state of the art in the development of quantum technologies which have an impact in the field of space applications. Our goal is to outline a complete framework for the design, development, implementation, and exploitation of quantum technology in space.
Over the past two years, a comprehensive strategy for quantum technology in Europe has been created by the joint effort of academia and the business sector with community support from all over the continent.By building on that, Europe is making the next big leap with the first wave of pioneering projects launched in October 2018, sending a clear global signal that we will do our very best to retain the historic lead in quantum sciences.Building on Europe's rich scientific heritage and the strong quantum community, the Quantum Technology Flagship was launched by the European Commission with a €1 billion budget.The ambitious initiative will support over 5,000 of Europe's leading researchers over the next ten years.As announced during the official kick-off in October 2018, 20 projects worth €132 million will be funded in the initial 3-year phase via the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme.A solid indicator of success is the staggering number of proposals submitted for the first Flagship call: 140 consortia have requested almost five times the available budget.Over the decade-long course of the Flagship, over 150 projects are expected to be realised.The total €1 billion funding will foster the entire quantum value chain from basic research to industrialisation, thus bringing together researchers and the business sector.Four research and innovation domains will simultaneously be the focus of the European efforts: Communication, Computation, Simulation, as well as Sensing and Metrology represent the major applied areas in the field, which will also be advanced by breakthrough discoveries in the fifth, underlying domain of Basic Science.The Communication domain will foster the development of cheap, compact, faster and more secure random number generators, as well as components and systems for continuous variable quantum communication.Parallel to these, a blueprint for the pan-European Quantum Internet shall be created by developing all essential subsystems and giving the first experimental demonstration.Within Computing, two projects aim to develop quantum computers that are competitive with today's state-of-the-art supercomputers, either by realising a fully-automated ion-trap quantum computer or by building a machine with up to 100 superconducting qubits.The Simulation domain will push the already well-advanced neutral atom and ion-based quantum simulation platforms and address quantum annealing or optimization problems through full programmability.Parallel to that a quantum simulator platform made of ultracold atoms will be created, engineering a new generation of quantum cascade laser frequency combs characterized by non-classical emission and entanglement among the comb nodes.The Sensing domain will see the development of novel and compact atomic clocks, as well as the exploitation of atom-like defects in diamond to develop a variety of sensors and in magnetic resonance imaging to improve the detection of cardiovascular diseases.Furthermore, it will support combining state-of-the-art quantum sensor physics with MEMS atomic vapor cells, allowing for high-volume, high-reliability, low-cost deployment.Finally, within the domain of Basic Science, seven projects will investigate a variety of topics and technologies, with a focus on microfabricated devices and photonic systems.Enhancing capabilities in quantum technologies will help create a lucrative knowledge-based industry, leading to long-term economic, scientific and societal benefits, while delivering novel ideas, tools, components, materials, methods and processes.By funding ground-breaking projects, the Flagship will enable "quantum leaps" in technology development over the next decade, which in turn will lead to establishing markets within and wealth creation even beyond the European quantum ecosystem.Currently Europe is still at the leading edge of quantum technologies worldwide.However, this might rapidly change, as the demand for technology and talent is increasing at an unprecedented pace around the globe due to the promising future of quantum applications.Governments of industry powerhouse nations like the USA or China, as well as corporations such as Google, IBM, Microsoft, Alibaba, and Tencent are already investing substantial amounts to unleash quantum technologies' potential.
Quantum phenomena are typically observable at length and time scales smaller than those of our everyday experience, often involving individual particles or excitations. The past few decades have seen a revolution in the ability to structure matter at the nanoscale, and experiments at the single particle level have become commonplace. This has opened wide new avenues for exploring and harnessing quantum mechanical effects in condensed matter. These quantum phenomena, in turn, have the potential to revolutionize the way we communicate, compute and probe the nanoscale world. Here, we review developments in key areas of quantum research in light of the nanotechnologies that enable them, with a view to what the future holds. Materials and devices with nanoscale features are used for quantum metrology and sensing, as building blocks for quantum computing, and as sources and detectors for quantum communication. They enable explorations of quantum behaviour and unconventional states in nano- and opto-mechanical systems, low-dimensional systems, molecular devices, nano-plasmonics, quantum electrodynamics, scanning tunnelling microscopy, and more. This rapidly expanding intersection of nanotechnology and quantum science/technology is mutually beneficial to both fields, laying claim to some of the most exciting scientific leaps of the last decade, with more on the horizon.
As the first applications leap out of research laboratories toward commercialization, the global race for dominance in the maturing field of quantum technologies is becoming ever fiercer. To retain its historical lead and kick-start a continent-wide quantum-driven industry and accelerate market take-up, Europe has launched the Quantum Flagship, an ambitious €1 billion, 10 year endeavor. This article provides an overview of the underlying considerations and the current state of the initiative. Furthermore, it briefly presents the 20 projects selected to be at the core of the ramp-up phase of the initiative, which will address core applications of quantum technologies such as communications, computing, simulation, as well as sensing and metrology, all of which are supported by basic science. Finally, we present the broader ecosystem of European funding instruments and institutions which aim to create the next generation of disruptive technologies within quantum sciences, placing Europe as a worldwide knowledge-based industrial and technological leader in this innovative field.
"Along with these developments, personal microwave technology has enabled strong non-linear effects at the photon level, leading to readily observable novel parameter regimes in quantum optics. Circuit QED has opened up new opportunities to explore the rich physics of quantum information processing (QIP) and quantum optics (QO), making them scalable on the road to quantum computing. However, we must also discuss some of the challenges involved. Quantum Technologies (QT) is a cross-disciplinary field that has made great progress in recent years. Technologies that can explicitly represent individual quantum states, as well as superposition and entanglement, are now being developed to exploit the 'strange' properties of quantum mechanics. In quantum communication, individual or entangled photons are used to securely send data, while quantum simulation utilizes well-controlled quantum systems that are less accessible. Interest is growing in higher dimensional quantum states and quantum communication, as the extended availability of Hilbert space and greater information capacity, along with increased noise elasticity, offer many advantages and new research possibilities. Let's focus our attention on the benefits of higher dimensional quantum states for quantum communication, as shown by Kuditz and others. Nevertheless, it has been demonstrated that higher dimensional quantum states can also provide improvements in many other areas."
Over the past century, quantum theory has taken flight from conceptual breakthroughs, such as wave–particle duality, quantisation of energy, and the uncertainty principle, to practical tools that are the backbone of modern electronics, lasers, semiconductors, and precision measurement systems. In the twenty-first century, this progress under the regime of the second quantum revolution has acquired the ability to directly control, manipulate, and engineer individual quantum systems.Quantum technologies found their pillars in quantum properties, such as superposition, entanglement, and coherence and have exceeded the boundaries of classical physics. The steady theoretical advances, combined with experimental progress, have brought quantum concepts closer to real-life use. Significant progress has made in filed of computation, communication, sensing, navigation, medicine, cyber security, and national defense undr the guidance of quantum technology.This book chapter presents a comprehensive and pedagogical overview of quantum technologies. It highlights quantum computing, quantum communication, and quantum sensing and metrology. The shift of quantum mechanics into practical applications is discussed. Current research trends are reviewed alongside the technological and engineering challenges. The critical issues, such as decoherence, scalability, error correction, standardisation, and workforce development, are discussed, which further highlights the need for global collaboration. Both National governments and the private sector are investing heavily in quantum research. This will act as a booster for quantum technologies to revolutionise information processing, secure communications, and precision measurements. Consequently and will significantly impact the scientific and technological landscape.