A space with the objective of mastering the technology of manufacturing, characterizing and operating quantum bits and other superconducting devices.
This will be the role of the first Quantum Technologies Laboratory of the Brazilian Center for Physics Research (CBPF), a unit linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI).
With funding from the Brazilian Studies and Projects Funding Agency (Finep), the laboratory, located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, now has a dilution refrigerator – already commissioned – that will keep the devices cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero, as well as an evaporator, equipment responsible for the physical production of the devices. The facility is an experimental infrastructure that will operate in the three main areas of quantum technologies: quantum computing, quantum communication and quantum sensors.
“The laboratory will be able to produce and characterize quantum chips based on superconductor technology, which is the same used by IBM and other companies around the world, as well as other devices that use the same technology, such as SQUID magnetometers, parametric amplifiers, photon detectors and circulators,” explained researcher Ivan S. Oliveira, leader of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance group at CBPF and coordinator of the project.
According to the researcher, the laboratory is strategically important for the development of quantum technologies in Brazil. “To give you an idea, it is estimated that countries around the world, the vast majority in the northern hemisphere, will have invested 43 billion dollars in quantum technologies by 2024. It is crucial that Brazil invests in the development of its own technology. Another important aspect of the laboratory is the training of physicists, engineers and technologists in the area of quantum technologies,” he said.
About the Lab
The laboratory being implemented is intended for the manufacture of superconducting devices, more specifically quantum chips, SQUIDs (superconducting quantum interference devices), parametric amplifiers, photon detectors, among others; and quantum communication, which also has resources from the National Institute of Science and Technology (INCT) of Quantum Information and the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT).
Four major lines of research are planned: the production of quantum chips and other devices based on Josephson junctions; quantum optics and quantum communication; and applications of diamond-based quantum sensors. These techniques are in addition to Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, a technique that has been used for over 20 years at CBPF in the processing of quantum information.
The latest equipment that makes up the first Quantum Technologies Laboratory at CBPF was delivered in December of last year. The impact of this advance is also connected to projects funded by the Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Faperj), the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and Petrobras.