People, Prizes & Fun

“As a theoretical physicist, QuTech is an interesting environment. Around 80% of the researchers here are doing experimental work, so I am one of the few theorists. To have all these other researchers in many different fields close by really is a privilege. In 2020, however, we have seen that a lot of the meetings, discussions, and even lectures can be held online. While some people and organisations were previously reluctant to move meetings online, in my experience it can even offer advantages!

I was on the program committee of the Annual Quantum Information Processing (QIP) conference, which was held online this year, and using a chat system for questions during the talks was a particular eye-opener. While the presentations were taking place, some very interesting discussions arose. And because in written chats appearances don’t make a difference, it didn’t matter who asked a question: we could focus just on content. Still, although online meetings can have their benefits, for 2021 I look forward to being able to meet colleagues and students on campus again and going back to fruitful discussions in front of a whiteboard.”

“When QuTech started in 2014, I immediately wanted to join. As a principal systems engineer at TNO, I had worked on various projects, including components of the extreme ultraviolet lithography machines at ASML. I thought it would be interesting to apply the knowledge and experience I had gathered in system engineering and building prototypes to quantum computing.

About two years after I joined QuTech, we started Quantum Inspire as a demonstrator project, and in 2020 we could finally show it to the world. In contrast to many other projects at QuTech, the main challenges for Quantum Inspire were not difficult measurements or complex theory, but rather bringing all the elements together and making sure that the system keeps working for a longer time. It’s a real place to shine for the TNO mindset. Now that Quantum Inspire is live, we want to extend it. Innovation of this kind requires collaboration, so within the Dutch National Quantum Technology Agenda we are working together with other institutes to add new quantum processors to the platform. And I hope that our platform will keep offering people access to state-of-the-art quantum computers and simulators.”

“As an electrical engineer working on integrated circuits for interfacing sensors, I come from a field that is very mature, and in which innovations are often incremental. Quantum computing, on the other hand, moves very fast. What I like most about my work at QuTech is that I learn something new every day. A lot of innovation takes place when you put together different disciplines, so here we have many people with completely different backgrounds whom I can learn from.

In my work on quantum computers, I find a lot of excitement but also a lot of challenges. Our work in 2020, together with Intel, showed that we could overcome some of these challenges by building a control chip able both to operate at cryogenic temperatures and to control a large number of qubits. This is an important step, because as the number of qubits rises, we cannot connect all of them individually to external electronics. This means we really need the electronics to be integrated, small, and working in extreme cold. After having shown that this is possible in 2020, we are now working on the performance of these circuits, and we will have great results to share in 2021!”

“Various groups at QuTech are collaborating on work to integrate the qubits and electronics needed to create and control a practical quantum computer. One challenge in the process is to develop a control chip that works at the low temperatures a qubit requires, but another challenge is to create space for the electronics between the qubits. That’s what I’m currently working on. I’m studying a way to transport electrons on a chip while protecting their quantum state. This would allow us to connect groups of qubits while creating space for electronics – in a similar way to how computer chips can contain electrical traces to connect components.

Another challenge we have been trying to solve relates to the production of quantum chips. Currently, the production of quantum dot devices is very specialized work that is hard to scale up. Together with Intel, we have been developing techniques to produce quantum chips in large numbers on their industrial production line. Last summer, we succeeded and had working qubits! It was just in time for me, because this summer, I will finish my dissertation. Hopefully, we’ll all be back on the campus by then, and I’ll still have the chance to have some lively discussions with my colleagues over lunch!”

“What I like about my job is that every day is different. For example, the requirements for our optical labs in the basement are completely different to those for labs with ‘just’ a fridge. What we call our dilution refrigerators are complex machines. They use Helium to reach temperatures close to absolute zero, and need an external supply of cooling water. In the optical labs, on the other hand, we need to keep the room temperature stable to within 0.5°C. And of course they need to be very dark, so the basement is an ideal location for them.

Due to QuTech’s growth we need a lot more lab space, so we have started several big expansion projects. Our growing electrical needs mean that this has consequences for the whole campus. With preparation complete, now it’s up to us to work out the details and start construction. In the meantime, we have already started planning for our new building! But what I look forward to most is when the first researchers move into our new labs and we can help them with the finishing touches. The most rewarding part of my job is the appreciation the researchers show us when everything is running smoothly.”

“For me, 2020 was a year of anticipation. We noticed that even though TNO and some of the faculties of the TU Delft were already working on quantum algorithms for certain applications, they could make still more progress by learning from each other. We wanted to accelerate these efforts, so in the past year, we’ve set up a new research programme within QuTech. It will focus on quantum algorithms and applications, and foster knowledge exchange between the different groups researching these areas.

At TNO, I’m working mainly on robustness, in which optimisation and machine learning play an important role. These types of problems could potentially be solved much faster on a quantum computer than they can classically, and that’s a reason why we are interested in quantum algorithms – looking not only at an “ideal quantum computer”, but also the phase before that. The so-called “Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum” technology that we’ve already achieved has severe limitations, but can already perform some tasks with the benefits of quantum technology. From this year on, through combining knowledge and expertise in our new programme, we will be able to optimise and adapt these devices and algorithms, enabling us to use quantum technology to solve real problems in the short term.”