Quantum hardware to be developed at CIC nanoGUNE
The Basque nanoscience research center opens a new group for the development of quantum hardware.
A new tower will be built, which will be housing the laboratories of the new group and also a leading scale-up company in quantum technologies.
NanoGUNE will be developing in San Sebastian chips for the construction of quantum computers based on semiconductor technology.
CIC nanoGUNE will be strengthening its activity in the field of quantum nanoscience with the creation of a new research group and a collaboration agreement with the scale-up company Quantum Motion, leader in the development of quantum hardware. A new tower will be built –The Quantum Tower– to acommodate the laboratories of the new research group and Quantum Motion.
NanoGUNE's new research group on quantum technologies will focus on the design and development of quantum computers, which should be able to tackle highly complex computational problems such as the design of new drugs or the production of new sustainable materials. The creation of this new group highlights nanoGUNE's committment to the development of this revolutionary technology, which is expected to have a great impact on society and our local ecosystem.
In particular, the center is betting on the development of quantum chips based on silicon technology, already present in the integrated circuits that are part of our computers, smartphones, or cars, as this will allow us to use the already existing manufacturing infrastructure of semiconductor industry. This technology represents a promising alternative to other quantum-computing technologies, as it will take advantage of many years of development, knowledge, and capabilities of an industry –the silicon industry– that is ubiquous nowadays. This technology is also advantageous for miniaturization, since each silicon quantum bit (or qubit) has the size of a few nanometers, one millionth of a millimiter. Combining the power of quantum computing with the simplicity of silicon represents a promising alternative for the implementation of quantum technologies.
The new research group on quantum technologies will be led by Fernando Gonzalez-Zalba, now Principal Quantum Researcher at Quantum Motion. Gonzalez-Zalba is an internationally recognized figure in the field of quantum computing and quantum sensing, having contributed to demonstrate the most advanced readout techniques for semiconductor spin-qubit devices. Author of a number of highly-cited scientific publications, including several papers in Nature and Physical-Review journals, he will be joining nanoGUNE as Ikerbasque Research Professor.
The research group will be located at nanoGUNE's new tower, which will consist of seven floors with overall dimensions of about 1,500 m2. This extension highlights nanoGUNE's clear committment to strengthen and consolidate its ongoing contribution in the field of quantum technologies. Quantum Motion will also locate researchers in the quantum tower to collaborate with nanoGUNE's new research group on quantum hardware for the development, design, and commercialization of the quantum chips of both the present and the future.