Grant: Alliance Grants

The goal of the partnership is to develop advanced manufacturing equipment and techniques for 3D quantum circuits, with potential applications in quantum computing, sensing, and communication. As a concrete application, this project will focus on the fabrication of superconducting quantum processors for quantum simulation. With large-scale, error-corrected quantum computers still years away, there has been considerable recent interest in analog quantum simulation (AQS). AQS is a paradigm of quantum computation where a well-controlled artificial system, e.g. a quantum circuit, is constructed to have the same Hamiltonian as a system of interest. The dynamics can then be explored by studying the artificial system, i.e., the simulator. Like analog classical computation in the 1960s, AQS is a promising path to unlock the advantages of quantum computing before large-scale digital quantum computers become feasible. Conventional 2D multilayer fabrication techniques do not work for quantum circuits. Many years of research have failed to produce the required insulating layers at sufficiently high quality. In recent years, industry has turned to 3D integration techniques where the quantum circuit is fabricated on a separate chip from the wiring and interconnects needed for complex functionality. These chips then need to be bonded together to form the final functional 3D circuit. Developing tools and techniques for this last step is the focus of this proposal. The work will build on Angstrom demonstrated ability to build tools for classical 3D circuits, modifying and validating the systems for the more demanding quantum applications. The tools developed in this project will allow for the fabrication and operation of large-scale quantum simulators in a scalable architecture. This work will benefit a wide range of quantum startups in Canada who are in need of solutions to the same microfabrication and manufacturing issues that will be addressed in this project.