Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The recent news that Google had achieved quantum supremacy was highly advertised and discussed in expert communities and the general public given the incredible possible applications of such quantum computers. Quantum technologies will revolutionize every aspect of our lives and impact every sector of the economy. For example, telecommunications companies (e.g. Bell) will develop new secure communication networks on which security is based on the law of quantum physics. Efficient quantum computers will allow the finance sector to have more computation power to perform faster transactions. The oil and mining industries will be able to use more precise and efficient sensors. Hospitals will have access to new diagnostic technologies allowing them to improve the healthcare system. Today, photonic quantum computers are the leading candidate in the quantum supremacy race. Those types of quantum computers, which use photons, can work at room temperature and be integrable with existing optical communication networks. Although the race towards quantum supremacy involves large companies like Microsoft or IBM, some smaller Canadian companies such as D-wave or the Toronto-based Startup Xanadu AI also participate. This Startup's motto is "to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere." Furthermore, the economic impacts of quantum technologies will be significant in Canada. According to Quantum Canada, they will generate $142.4 billion of annual revenue (3.4% of the GDP) and employ 229,000 Canadians by 2040. This explains why all countries invest massively in quantum technologies. The European Union announced in 2018 $1 billion in, and the USA announced in August 2020 $1 billion in funding for quantum computing and AI technologies. The research program aims to develop a state-of-the-art integrated optical chip that allows Canadian companies to access quantum information processors to characterize quantum states efficiently. To achieve this long-term goal, new ways to implement weak measurements, a type of non-invasive quantum measurement, will be investigated to render them compatible with integrated optics. Then, the requirements to implement this new kind of weak measurements unveiled by this investigation will be converted to be integrable in an optical chip. And, finally, the chip will be designed, built, and tested and would constitute a proof-of-principle experiment showing the usefulness of integrated weak measurement to characterize quantum systems efficiently. Finally, this program falls within the scope of the federal government's new National Quantum Strategy currently being developed. In addition to provide cutting-edge technologies, this research program will train tomorrow's talents. Those talents include the future leaders in quantum research and the most valuable assets to the quantum workforce, such as quantum IT specialists, quantum engineers or quantum communications network technicians.