Grant: Canada Excellence Research Chairs

Quantum information is an emerging field of research combining physics, computer science, and engineering. It aims at harnessing the very non-intuitive laws of quantum mechanics to encode, transmit, and process information in revolutionary ways: quantum computers can execute certain tasks exponentially faster that currently possible while quantum cryptography enables unconditional secure private communications. Because of their immense potential impacts on our society, there is a worldwide effort to realize quantum technologies. This Chair will be at the frontier of the new field of research, quantum signal processing, that will become one of the crucial components of this effort. All commercial information processors revolve around solid-state physics. This is also the most promising avenue to build a quantum information processor, but the electronic noise affecting these systems during their operation and readout represents a major obstacle. Quantum signal processing will borrow from the study of non-Gaussian noise in micro-electronic components at low temperature, a field of research pioneered by the proposed Chairholder, to deepen our understanding of this noise and improve the interfaces between quantum devices and classical apparatus, paving the way to scalable quantum technologies in the solid-state. Detailed knowledge of noise mechanisms in solid-state devices---and particularly non-Gaussian noise---has additional application in the field of micro-electronics where it provides a tool for non-invasive component characterization and in communication technologies where it could offer new ways to encode, analyze and encrypt information.