U of Copenhagen’s VLS-QPP Fellowship Developing Next Generation of Very-Large Quantum Photonic Processors

(CordisEuropa) Peter Lodahl, Head of the Quantum Photonics Group at the University of Copenhagen, has been observing the steady materialisation of quantum hardware building blocks, and he’s clearly optimistic about the future. With every new building block, the world gets closer to the first generation of quantum computing, communication and precision sensing devices. “These are exciting times for quantum photonics.”
Lodahl has actually been much more than an observer. He also supervises a group of about 30 scientists working on quantum photonics technology.
One of the key projects hosted by Lodahl is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship named VLS-QPP. The project aims to develop the next generation of quantum optical technology. It does so through symbiotic development of hardware and algorithms, and by using the silicon photonics platform.
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow leading the programme, Jacques Carolan, says that VLS-QPP aims to add the missing ‘quantum’ components to existing ‘classical’ hardware: “While commercial technologies like silicon photonics offer unprecedented scale and complexity, they lack key quantum functionality.” VLS-QPP is developing the next generation of very-large-scale quantum photonic processors by augmenting existing classical optical technology with new quantum componentry.