Neutral atoms are among the leading platforms toward realizing fault-tolerant quantum computation (FTQC). However, scaling up a single neutral-atom device beyond 10 4 atoms to meet the demands of FTQC for practical applications remains a challenge. To overcome this challenge, we clarify the criteria and technological requirements for further scaling based on multiple neutral atom quantum processing units (QPUs) connected through photonic networking links. Our quantitative analysis shows that nanofiber optical cavities have the potential as an efficient atom-photon interface to enable fast entanglement generation between atoms in distinct neutral-atom modules, allowing multiple neutral-atom QPUs to operate cooperatively without sacrificing computational speed. Using state-of-the-art millimeter-scale nanofiber cavities with the finesse of thousands, over a hundred atoms can be coupled to the cavity mode with an optical tweezer array, with expected single-atom cooperativity exceeding 100 for telecom-band transition of ytterbium atoms. This enables efficient time-multiplexed entanglement generation with a predicted Bell-pair generation rate of 10 5 s − 1 while maintaining a small footprint for channel multiplexing. These proposals and results indicate a promising pathway for building large-scale multiprocessor fault-tolerant quantum computers using neutral atoms, nanofiber optical cavities, and fiber-optic networks.
As quantum computers advance toward larger, more powerful systems, scaling beyond a single quantum processing unit (QPU) will require the development of fast, high-fidelity interconnections between QPUs. One of the most promising strategies for achieving this is coupling qubits to optical cavities. Strong atom-cavity interactions enable the generation of atom-photon entanglement at rates orders of magnitude faster than alternative approaches, offering a critical advantage for scalable architectures. This thesis investigates the use of nanophotonic and microscale cavities to achieve exceptional atom-photon coupling while maintaining compatibility with state-of-the-art neutral atom QPUs. The experiments presented in this thesis demonstrate coherent transport between a free-space atom array and an optical cavity, coherent Rydberg excitations and interactions in the presence of the cavity interface, fast high-fidelity readout and cavity-mediated operations, and novel fabrication techniques for improved microcavities that further enhance system performance. Together, these advances outline a pathway toward utility-scale quantum computing.
Developing light-matter interfaces is a crucial capability with unique applications to quantum optics and quantum information networks. In this context, our group focuses on the development of quantum memories in cold, neutral atom clouds, using both electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT) and DLCZ as interacting schemes [1]. We recently reported for instance the quantum storage of qubits encoded in the orbital angular momentum degree of freedom [2]. Here, we demonstrate [3] for the first time EIT and optical storage at the single-photon level for the light tightly guided by a subwavelength-diameter optical fiber, aka nanofiber. In a nanofiber, the guided photons are highly confined and the majority of the light power travels in the evanescent field outside the glass. This new setting is a promising alternative to free-space focusing, which limits the interaction one can obtain, and provides a novel platform for developing all-fibered quantum networks.
Efficient interfaces between photons and memory qubits constitute fundamental build- ing blocks for quantum networking and large-scale quantum information processing. Our approach utilizes a photonic crystal cavity to realize such optical interfaces for atoms in optical tweezers. With this platform, we observe strong coupling between two atoms mediated by the cavity. Combining this observation with coherent manipulation and non-destructive measurements, we implement a protocol for generating Bell pairs that remain entangled when transported away from the cavity structure. These results present prospects for building integrated optical interconnects for neutral atom quan- tum information processors, adding capabilities such as rapid non-destructive readout and flexible connectivity to the rapidly-growing platform.
The power of quantum computation derives from algorithmic methods that exploit the availability of quantum superposition and entanglement to perform computations that are intractable with classical devices. The race is on to develop hardware that will unleash the promise of quantum algorithms. A handful of different types of hardware are currently being developed with the greatest efforts directed at superconducting, quantum-dot, trapped-ion, photonic, and neutral-atom approaches [1]. While all approaches have strengths and weaknesses, and are at different stages of development, the challenge of creating a practical design that can be scaled to a million or more qubits has not yet been met with any of the existing platforms. One may wonder if we really need a million qubits for a useful quantum computer. The answer depends on our ambition level. On the one hand it is widely believed that a quantum computer with less than 100 reliable qubits will be able to demonstrate a quantum advantage for a well defined computational problem [2]. Demonstration of a quantum computational advantage will generate great excitement in the halls of academia, but will have little broader import. A problem of great practical interest such as ab initio design of chemicals for increasing the yield of fertilizers for crop production, to name but one example, may also require just a few hundred qubits, provided computational sequences with circuit depth of 1010 or more operations can be reliably performed [3]. However, given the current performance of qubit hardware, which has demonstrated error rates not less than ∼10−3, computations with depth 1010 will only produce random outcomes of negligible value. The solution lies in the construction of error-correction circuitry operating on logical qubits, each composed of many physical qubits, which will enable logical error rates many orders of magnitude smaller than physical error rates. Although error correction is remarkably efficient for classical computing devices—Hamming codes detect and correct errors while only requiring roughly 10% overhead in the number of physical bits—quantum error correction is notoriously expensive. New approaches to error correction are the subject of intensive research with one promising direction being the development of codes that are optimized to suppress the dominant error mechanism in a particular physical platform [4,5]. Nevertheless, with physical error rates of 10−4, a plausible target for current qubit systems, the overhead required to reach logical error rates of 10−10 may be measured in thousands of physical qubits for each logical qubit. Thus a quantum computer able to perform deep calculations on a few hundred logical qubits could require a million physical qubits. A consequence of the cost of quantum error correction is that any viable approach to large-scale quantum computing needs to combine high-fidelity quantum logic operations with a capability for integrating large numbers of physical qubits. From this perspective neutral-atom qubits appear particularly promising [6] as they have already demonstrated control of more qubits than any other platform with recent experiments in 1D [7], 2D [8,9], and 3D [10] geometries showing control of up to 50 atomic qubits. Large qubit arrays can potentially be prepared in 1D, 2D, or 3D geometries. The number of proximal qubits increases with the dimensionality, which is advantageous for implementation of error correction code words, and points towards a preference for 2D or 3D arrays. On the other hand, the added overhead of compensating crosstalk incurred when targeting atoms inside a 3D volume makes parallel operations on multiple qubits challenging. A 2D geometry, as shown schematically in Fig. 1, may be an optimal choice since qubit control and measurement can be performed with lasers propagating normal to the plane of the array so that individual qubit sites can be addressed independently. With demonstrated array periods of a few micrometers we require a footprint of less than 1 mm2 for 104 qubits. Conceptual picture of a 2D neutral-atom qubit array. a) High-numerical-aperture lenses project several different wavelengths of light for control and measurement of the qubits. Specific choices of optical wavelengths depend on the atomic species. Not shown are optics for initial laser cooling, transport to the array, beam scanning, and imaging for qubit measurement. b) Averaged fluorescence image of 49 atomic qubits on a 2D grid with |
3.8μm| spacing [8]. From a fundamental perspective the prospects for scaling neutral-atom systems are particularly promising due to the exceptionally large ratio between coherent and incoherent coupling rates. Neutral-atom qubits are encoded in hyperfine ground states for which coherence times of the order of 10 s have been demonstrated [10]. This implies a dephasing rate |
γ∼0.1s−1|. The coherent coupling that enables quantum logic operations is switched on by exciting atoms to high-lying Rydberg states with principal quantum number close to 100 [11,12]. Rydberg excited atoms at spacings of a few micrometers in an optical lattice interact coherently with rates |
g>109s−1|. The ratio between desired coherent coupling and residual incoherent dephasing of g/γ ∼ 1010 establishes a figure of merit that is enabling for scalability. To our knowledge only trapped ions can claim a similar g/γ ratio [13], but without a correspondingly direct path towards controlling thousands of qubits in a single processing unit. Although the g/γ ratio is exceptionally favorable for neutral-atom qubits a complete set of universal gate operations has not yet been demonstrated with high fidelity. Single-qubit gates in large 2D and 3D arrays have reached fidelity |
F∼0.999| [8,10]. However, the highest demonstrated fidelity for two-qubit entanglement mediated by Rydberg-state interactions is |
F<0.8| [6,14,15], a value that is well short of the theoretical limit of |
F>0.9999| [16,17]. There is healthy optimism within the research community working with neutral-atom qubits that combining improved laser sources with reduced noise, better cooling to reduce motional dephasing, and control of stray electric fields that perturb Rydberg atoms will lead to substantially improved gate fidelity in the near future. Recent results with better filtering of laser phase noise have already demonstrated remarkable improvement in ground–Rydberg entanglement [18]. The outlook for the next few years appears very promising. We anticipate that with advances in lasers, optical lattices for atom trapping, deterministic rearrangement and loading of atoms in multi-dimensional arrays [19,20], and optics for fast beam scanning it will be possible to increase the number of physical qubits in a single neutral-atom module to at least 104. A challenging yet plausible path to a million-qubit processor can then be contemplated by connecting 100 such modules with atom–photon entanglement channels [21]. Beyond the potential for advancing the state of the art in computation, development of techniques for single-atom control inside large multi-atom arrays will enable other applications of quantum science including metrology and time-keeping. Rydberg interactions that are at the heart of a neutral-atom quantum computer may lead to multi-atom entanglement and Heisenberg scaling of atomic-clock precision [22]. This work was supported by the NSF and ARL CDQI.
We present a strategic plan for neutral atom quantum computation, bringing together hardware development and theory advancements to achieve the goal of practical quantum advantage. The concept of practical quantum advantage is defined, along with how to verify claims of advantage, and approaches to designing quantum algorithms that deliver practical advantage. Future directions for neutral atom quantum processor hardware are described: scaling-up system size, Qubit encodings and atomic platforms, going further below threshold with neutral-atom logical-qubit performance, continuous reloading of qubits, and fast readout. We also explore opportunities for scalable integrated photonic control technologies. Alongside hardware advancements, new developments in quantum error correction and compilation of quantum circuits are proposed. Finally, we examine the opportunity of networking multiple neutral atom quantum processors together to perform distributed quantum computing and overcome possible limitations of a single system.