The QuCube project: towards the construction of a quantum computer

Quantum computing, discussed theoretically in the 1990s, is now emerging as a revolutionary extension of high-performance computing. To go beyond the processing capacity of conventional computers (which now incorporate several billion transistors), the number of elementary quantum bits needs to reach several million. The QuCube project’s backers are combining the strengths of their teams to target the construction of a quantum processor with at least a hundred physical quantum bits (qubits) in order to demonstrate a first functional logical qubit, an essential step in the journey towards a future quantum computer. This achievement would place silicon quantum technologies at the current state of the art in terms of numbers of quantum bits, with the benefits of real prospects of scaling up using the most advanced microfabrication and 3D integration solutions.

European funding for world-class collaborative research

Close collaborative interaction between the three winning research managers – Silvano De Franceschi (INAC, CEA), Tristan Meunier (Institut Néel, CNRS) and Maud Vinet (CEA-LETI) – and their teams will enable transformative research at the cutting edge of science, capable of producing revolutionary and even unforeseen scientific results and/or new disciplines. The ambition is to open the way to more significant results than the sum of the individual contributions of each research manager. The many years of upstream research expertise in quantum technologies and electronic transport in silicon as well as the funding of the project place Univ. Grenoble Alpes at the forefront of the world’s quantum engineering stakeholders and offer unique potential for research in response to the challenges of building a quantum computer.