QCT Lab

IFAE Research Groups

Quantum Computing Technologies Group

  • Quantum Computing Technologies

    Achieving an advantage over conventional computers to solve problems which are ubiquitous in society.

    QCT Lab
  • Quantum Computing Technologies Group

    Quantum Computation (QC) is arguably the most revolutionary of all new quantum technologies, as it may transform many industrial sectors with a direct impact on society. In the past five years, the field has experienced a huge transformation as it is being adopted and developed by industry after two decades being an almost purely academic endeavor.

    There exist today small-scale prototypes produced by both research groups and large corporations. Those devices are getting powerful enough to provide advantages over conventional computers in specific applications. However, in order to achieve the long-sought “quantum supremacy”, several key developments are still necessary.

    IFAE is fully engaged in this technology since 2019. The particular implementation developed at IFAE, quantum annealing, is one of the most promising avenues by which to achieve an advantage over conventional computers by solving optimization problems which are ubiquitous in society (delivery, traffic, chemistry, etc.).

    The QCT group develops superconducting circuits for applications in quantum computation. By employing Josephson-junction technology, the group engineers superconducting qubits for the implementetion of quantum algorithms. Part of the research is focused on improving the qubit quality by mitigation of environmental noise sources, while at the same time the circuits are used to investigate fundamental physics of quantum optics phenomena.

    QCT Lab
    Refrigerator at the IFAE QCT Lab Credit: IFAE QCT Group
    In 2020, the QCT group achieved the complete construction of its laboratory at the IFAE workshop. The new laboratory was already used to complete the first complete work performed at IFAE, the demonstration of a single qubit as a universal approximant. This new quantum algorithm was deviced by the group led by Prof. J. I. Latorre, currently the director of the Center for Quantum Technologies in Singapore, and was implemented using the single superconducting qubit device that was fabricated by the group of Prof. Martin Weides at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The initial round of measurements had been performed at the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) in the lab of Prof. S. O. Valenzuela while the IFAE laboratory was being built. This quantum algorithm uses the qubit properties to approximate the value of any bounded mathematical function after a series of quantum gates applied to the qubit. The experimental demonstration showed full agreement with the simulated values. A preprint was produced in early 2021.
    QCT Lab
    QCT Lab Credit: IFAE QCT Group

    You can find more information on the QCT group at IFAE website

  • Group Members

    Quantum Computing Technologies Group

    Staff Researchers

    • Pol Forn-Díaz

      Pol Forn-Díaz

    • Manel Martinez

      Manel Martinez

    Project Manager Assistant

    • Sara Martínez

      Sara Martínez

    Postdoc Researchers

    • Elia Bertoldo

      Elia Bertoldo

    PhD Students

    • Luca Cozzolino

      Luca Cozzolino

    • David López

      David López

    • Alba Torras

      Alba Torras

    Technicians

    • Víctor Manuel Pérez

      Víctor Manuel Pérez

  • Research Projects

    Quantum Computing Technologies Group

    QCT Lab

    Plan Complementario, 2021

    Comunicación Cuántica

    This program is aligned with the key European initiatives in this area, both the Quantum Flagship and the European Quantum Communications Infrastructure (EuroQCI), by creating cutting-edge infrastructures and acting as a motor for the European quantum industry. IFAE participates in the NESQQ subproject, that will aim at improving qubit quality by intensive fabrication efforts, both studying the addition of novel materials as well as by modifications of the qubit device structure. This project will be run in collaboration with IMB-CNM-CSIC via the researcher Dr. Gemma Rius, an active collaborator of the QCT group

      QCT Lab

      Proyectos I+D Generación de Conocimiento, 2021

      Interacción de la radiación cósmica en cúbits (ICRQ)

      The ICQR project aims to develop superconducting qubits that are resilient against the impact of ionizing radiation, which limit their performance as quantum sensors and hinder the implementation of quantum error correction schemes. This will be achieved by suppressing the generation of spurious quasiparticles in the superconductor through the use of complementary approaches, including operation in a deep underground laboratory, the use of radiopure materials, and on-chip patterns for quasiparticle abatement. Project coordinated by IFAE.

        Avaqus

        H2020-FETOPEN, 2019

        Annealing-based VAriational QUantum processorS (AVaQus)

        AVaQus is a European project funded in the FET-Open 2019 call to develop a quantum processor that demonstrates coherent quantum annealing and its potential to solve real-life optimization problems. Project coordinated by IFAE.

        QUANTERA Logo

        Programa Estatal de I+D+i Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad, 2019

        Superinductor-based Quantum Technologies with Ultrastrong Couplings (SiUCs)

        SiUCS focus on improving the efficiency of qubit operations involving light-matter interactions. In addition, superinductors are used to engineer a missing device of the superconducting quantum circuit toolbox: the microwave single photon detector.

      • Publications

        Quantum Computing Technologies Group

      • Group News

        Instrumentation

        QCT group Milestone: Successful Control of Flux Qubits

        October 18, 2023

        Researchers at the QCT group have achieved precise control over flux qubits, a crucial component for quantum annealing.

        Spin-off

        Successful first delivery for the Quantum Spain project to build the first Spanish quantum computer

        July 10, 2023

        The Qilimanjaro-GMV joint venture has completed the first milestone in the construction of the quantum computer at BSC, which consists of remote access to a 5-qubit quantum chip. This chip is operational at Qilimanjaro’s Quantum Computing Technology laboratory at the Institut de Fisica d’Altes Energies (IFAE) and is, in fact, the first quantum computer located in Spanish territory.

        Publication

        New paper by the QCT group

        March 21, 2023

        Cosmic muon flux attenuation methods for superconducting qubit experiments ” by members of the QCT group at IFAE has been uploaded to arXiv.

        In the Media

        The QCT lab featured in the TV program 'El cazador de cerebros'

        May 11, 2022

        On Monday 3, May 2022 the TV program “El Cazador de cerebros” broadcasted in La2 of the Spanish National Television. The chapter focused on young students and had the title “Los Cerebros del Futuro”.

        Milestone

        First superconducting flux qubit observed in the QCT lab

        January 12, 2022

        The QCT group at IFAE has observed the existence of the first superconducting flux qubit. This is a milestone for the group.These are the kind of chips that are of interest for quantum computing with quantum annealing, quantum optics and detection.

        Award

        Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech wins the Senén Vilaró award

        December 9, 2021

        Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech receives the Senén Vilaró Prize for the top innovative business.