Quantum Technologies - Fundamentals and new concepts for better nanodevices

For more than 50 years, the traditional approach to increase the performance of integrated circuits made from CMOS has been to scale down dimensions so as to reduce power consumption and increase signal processing speed. To achieve such miniaturization in the face of exponentially increasing fabrication challenges required many ingenious ideas and billions in investment. We are however rapidly reaching the end of this path, as current system dimensions and occupation reach the de-Broglie wavelength and single electron levels meaning not only can quantum effects no longer be ignored but in fact begin to dominate.

Quantum Technologies (QT) are the answer to this long expected end of the classical path. Its quest is to turn the challenges of hitting this quantum limit into an opportunity, namely, making use of the quantum properties of matter to bring device technology to a final and superior level of performance, using novel architecture for computing, communication, and sensing applications.

There are many attractive candidate materials for the realisation of quantum devices. The hosting of qubits – the quantum analogue of the binary operators in classical systems – can be realized by employing spins in magnetic atoms, magnetic molecules, and molecular magnets, but also in surface bands participating in well-defined interactions defined by the physics and chemistry of bonding.

PSI and in particular the photon science department hosts outstanding facilities and expertise to contribute to many of these approaches through its unique combination of light- & particle sources, nanofabrication & characterisation facilities and sensor expertise.

The QT group employs PSI’s large-scale facilities to study many-body phenomena in quantum matter and to engineer novel nanostructured devices.

Our scientific agenda derives from the synthesis of our knowledge from “old” materials such as silicon and germanium with new concepts from the quantum physics.

Our activities nucleate at the infrared (IR) beamline of the Swiss Light Source (SLS) synchrotron, and the laboratory of micro and nanotechnology where we will set the ground for ultrafast x-ray spectroscopy and scattering experiments in high magnetic fields and low temperatures at the SwissFEL x-ray free-electron laser.