Grant: Canada Research Chairs

Silicon transistors, the building block of electronic devices, cannot shrink much further without being rendered inoperable by quantum mechanics. However, this presents a tremendous opportunity. If we harness quantum mechanics, rather than avoid it, we could accomplish certain computational tasks that would otherwise be forever unrealistic. Research at SFU has shown that, incredibly, the very atomic defects preventing smaller transistors lead to the best candidate quantum bits, or qubits, for quantum computing. Dr. Simmons aims to link these excellent atomic qubits with photon qubits a hybrid solution that paves the way for silicon to once again revolutionize the information age.