#quantumcontrol

Sloan Fellowship Award

Two notable academic members of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) were awarded 2026 Sloan Research Fellows, one of the most distinguished early-career scientific awards in the US and Canada. Peter Maurer, Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering, and Chibueze Amanchukwu, Neubauer Family Assistant Professor, were among 126 outstanding researchers chosen by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for their “outstanding promise” by hand.

The two-year, $75,000 Sloan Research Fellowship supports creative research by young scholars who will lead science. This funding allows UChicago PME grantees latitude to perform high-risk, high-reward research, unlike other federal awards. Because these fellowships are cheaper, Maurer says his team may “try some of our crazier ideas and see where they go”.

Linking Quantum Physics and Life

Peter Maurer's work is important in biophotonics and quantum engineering. His lab aims to develop quantum sensors that can assess biological processes more precisely than current technology. Maurer's work aims to build sensors to monitor molecular-scale biological activity and study quantum system restrictions in “noisy” biological situations.

Quantum physics' precision should be applied to biological complexity, according to Maurer. He claims that his organization is using quantum phenomena to “become part of biology” rather than just observe it. Since life occurs at the molecule length scale, where signals are excellent for quantum sensors but too small for traditional detection, this strategy works effectively.

Quantum sensors can detect nuclear spin density, unlike fluorescent labels, which only display molecular location. These data are crucial for understanding ion transport through cellular channels and protein conformational changes. Maurer's lab created the first protein-based qubit, one of Physics World's top ten physics accomplishments of 2025. Maurer hopes to utilize the Sloan Fellowship to scale these biological qubits into larger quantum arrays, taking use of biology's intrinsic capacity to arrange matter with atomic accuracy, which is harder to achieve with typical quantum platforms.

Maurer pioneered room-temperature qubit quantum control during his doctoral study in physics at Harvard. He also completed a Stanford postdoctoral program under Nobel laureate Steven Chu.

Revolutionizing Energy Storage and Sustainability

Chibueze Amanchukwu's study focuses on clean energy transition challenges, notably how electrolytes, which allow electrical charge to flow in batteries, affect chemical processes during energy conversion and storage. His lab created a “carbon and salt” battery and made significant progress. This new battery technology is safer, cheaper, and more abundant than current lithium-ion batteries.

Beyond hardware innovation, Amanchukwu's group forecasts electrolyte performance and develops future energy system formulations using machine learning methods. Amanchukwu extends battery electrolyte design knowledge to other pressing environmental issues at the “intersection of different fields.” This includes degrading "forever chemicals," or PFAS, and boosting electrochemical carbon dioxide collection and conversion.

Amanchukwu will study electrode-electrolyte interface under the Sloan Fellowship. He wants to give scientists new insights into charging and discharging chemical processes by developing reliable, high-resolution battery monitoring devices. He believes these sensors will be “transformational,” guiding material development and elucidating complex chemical pathways.

Amanchukwu has a PhD in chemical engineering from MIT and a joint post at Argonne. Stanford and Cambridge postdoctoral fellowships are among his credentials. MIT Technology Review's 2024 “Innovators Under 35” list and Chemical & Engineering News' “Talented 12” list are among his many distinctions.

Past Excellence at UChicago PME

Researchers Use Dual Spin-Orbit Interactions to Stabilise FFLO Superfluid Phase.

The Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) phase, one of the most elusive states of matter, has boosted the quest for unusual superfluid phases in quantum systems. This discovery requires accurate manipulation of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings (SOCs) in 1D Fermi gases. The team included Reza Asgari from Zhejiang Normal University, Mohammad-Hossein Zare from Qom University of Technology, and Hamid Mosadeq from Shahrekord University. The discoveries reveal a key path to robust, quantum topological superfluidity, which will impact Majorana fermion research and next-generation quantum technologies.

Unlocking Strange Superconductivity

The 1960s-proposed FFLO phase is a superconductivity or superfluidity that differs from the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) state. In contrast to BCS pairs, which have zero momentum, FFLO paired fermions have a net, finite momentum, resulting in a spatially changing order parameter. The fragile and complex FFLO phase has proven difficult to manufacture and stabilise in labs, making its consistent generation a “holy grail” for researchers trying to reconcile theoretical predictions with reality.

This research produces and examines exotic states in a highly regulated setting, such as ultracold atomic Fermi gases, to learn more about materials science and possibly develop new technologies. Topological phases of matter have strong qualities, and unconventional superconductivity emerges from mechanisms beyond established theories.

The Spin-Orbit Control Mechanism

Main invention of study team is using two types of spin-orbit coupling. Spin-orbit coupling is a key quantum phenomenon that describes a particle's velocity and internal spin. Spin degeneracy is lifted by this interaction, changing a system's electrical structure.

Rashba and Dresselhaus couplings, the types under study, have different structural symmetries. Rashba coupling, which splits energy bands into two spin-polarized sub-bands based on electron momentum, is common near surfaces or in systems without inversion symmetry. In contrast, bulk asymmetry of crystal structures causes Dresselhaus coupling.

Integrating both couplings into complex superconductivity equations allowed researchers to study how these interactions affect the FFLO phase. A theoretical model and advanced computational approaches like Density Matrix Renormalisation Group (DMRG) and Quantum Monte Carlo simulations were utilised to study the system's behaviour and map out the phase diagram.

Effect dichotomy: Selective Intraband Pairing The analysis found an essential distinction in how the two couplings affect FFLO.

Despite its role in developing unusual superconducting phases, Rashba coupling inhibits the FFLO state and prefers conventional pairing, according to the researchers. This phenomena may make the planned finite-momentum couples unstable, promoting energy band coherence.

However, Dresselhaus coupling was the main stabiliser. The group demonstrated that Dresselhaus coupling uniquely promotes and stabilises the intraband FFLO phase, which is defined by finite-momentum pairing inside a single energy band. The system's tailored stabilisation is achieved by suppressing energy band coherence and boosting spin polarisation.

The results indicate several FFLO phases, including those caused by intraband and interband pairing, emphasising the couplings' complex interaction.

Building Strong Topological Superfluidity

Rashba and Dresselhaus couplings' complimentary interactions are the study's most important finding. A careful balance between the two couplings yields robust topological FFLO phases, according to the study. The scientists painstakingly changed coupling strengths and orientations to map out the superfluid order and spin polarisation.

This meticulous analysis showed specific cases where the combined effect considerably boosted the topological FFLO phase's stability, possibly bypassing previous superconductivity barriers. Stabilising a topological state is vital for reliable quantum information systems because topological states have protected edge states that are immune to local faults and shocks. The researchers examined edge states and durability to confirm topologically protected superfluidity under certain combination conditions.

The study also determined the spatial frequency and critical temperature of the FFLO phase's unique pairing modulation.

Quantum Information Processing Implications

Controlling and stabilising topological superfluid phases in ultracold atomic gases opens up new quantum technology options. The paper provides a guidance for altering topological properties in spin-orbit systems.

Most importantly, the findings could enable Majorana fermions to be created and controlled. These elusive particles, which live at the borders of topological superconductors and act as their own antiparticles, may be used to build fault-tolerant quantum computers. A robust, controlled topological FFLO state in the 1D Fermi gas gives researchers a unique platform to study these rare quantum occurrences.

Superconducting Diodes' Directional Control Changes Quantum Hardware

Superconductive Diodes

Innovative parts that accurately control quantum information flow are needed to enhance quantum technologies. Researchers are exploring the use of superconducting diodes (SDs) to directly incorporate nonreciprocity into quantum technology to achieve this crucial goal.

Nicolas Dirnegger, Prineha Narang, and Arpit Arora at UCLA developed a new quantum information processing approach by integrating these diodes into circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) architectures. By creating coherent nonreciprocal elements for qubit interactions, this discovery enables dependable, high-fidelity signal routing and entanglement formation in complex quantum networks.

Intrinsic Nonreciprocity: Directional Quantum Control Key

To isolate quantum systems and ensure signal propagation in distinct directions, nonreciprocal quantum gates are essential. High-fidelity signal routing is possible with these direction-dependent properties, which avoid back-reflection.

Nonreciprocity used to require technical losses or hefty magnetic materials, which were problematic at high frequencies. The unique method uses superconducting diodes' non-reciprocity.

The critical current of a superconducting diode may be higher in one direction than in the other. Different from a conventional superconductor. A fundamental imbalance in the superconducting state causes this intrinsic phenomena. The superconducting gadget must break inversion and time-reversal symmetries to give this asymmetry and inherent non-reciprocity. Researchers can use these diodes for nonreciprocal qubit-qubit coupling.

Directional Quantum Component Design Nonreciprocal, coherent superconducting diodes were successfully integrated into cQED architectures. They built an asymmetric superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) that resembles a diode. This diode may be controlled by magnetic flux.

When integrated into a quantum circuit, this superconducting diode allows directional photon flow and asymmetric qubit coupling. A Josephson junction array and nonlinear resonator gave the device a 2.3 rectification ratio at 5GHz. In the transmission spectrum, flux bias and nonlinear diode response cause direction-dependent resonance changes.

The Quantum Directional Flow Mechanism

Theoretical knowledge focusses on how the Josephson junction's unique quantum features cause non-reciprocal behaviour. The study used a theoretical framework to explain how Josephson junctions and microwave wave interactions could create a device that transmits signals in one way. This framework provides a compact, quantum-compatible, and possibly modifiable solution.

The researchers modelled the Josephson junction's nonlinearity by extending its current-phase relationship into a Fourier series. This method shows how the junction's nonlinearity, specifically the third-order component, induces three-wave mixing, which creates new frequencies and microwave mode interactions.

The junction's energy levels and interactions are changed by bias current and magnetic flux. Importantly, the odd bias flux frequency shift causes the non-reciprocal behaviour. The device behaves differently based on signal propagation direction. Researchers used the Heisenberg-Langevin equations to calculate transmission coefficients to simulate and predict device behaviour at different frequencies and input powers. They then compared forecasts to experiments.

Activating Quantum Gates and Networks

The researchers used the superconducting diode to produce coherent qubit-qubit coupling in a basic two-qubit system to show a nonreciprocal half-iSWAP gate. This shows direction-dependent quantum operation capability.

Effective gate implementation proves tunable Bell-state generation is possible. This work prepares microwave quantum networks for entanglement creation and high-fidelity signal routing. When device-level non-reciprocity is possible, all-to-all quantum networks are appealing.

Significant quantum control gains from this discovery could lead to modular CPUs with lower footprints and less cryogenic wiring. The team plans to produce non-reciprocal devices compatible with quantum circuits, such as isolators and circulators, but optimisation and coherence studies are needed. Future uses may include synthetic gauge fields for directional quantum memory, cascaded quantum gates, and hardware-level multiplexing.

Highly Fidelity Quantum Control with 0.1% Fidelity Improvement via Frequency- and Amplitude-Modulated Gates

Quantum Gates

Controlling quantum bits (qubits) remains a major challenge for quantum computers. Scientists are continually trying to improve quantum precision and speed. A unique theoretical paradigm for quantum gates uses microwave control signal frequency and amplitude modulation. This inventive method enhances amplitude modulation by adding frequency modulation as a control element.

Researchers, including Jeffrey A. Grover, William D. Oliver, Agustín Di Paolo from Google Quantum AI, Réouven Assouly and Alan V. Oppenheim from MIT, and Qi Ding and Shoumik Chowdhury from MIT, have successfully designed universal quantum gates with low error rates and fast operation times through extensive numerical simulations. Better quantum control enables more complex and reliable quantum calculations. High-fidelity single- and two-qubit gates enable error-corrected quantum computers and digital quantum algorithms.

Superconducting Qubit Control and Optimisation Recent quantum computing advances emphasise complicated superconducting qubit control techniques. This field relies on universal gate sets to enable complex quantum calculations. Scientists are studying Floquet engineering and adiabatic control to protect qubits from noise and increase coherence. Theory like quantum master equations and numerical simulations are needed to model qubit dynamics and optimise control parameters.

Shifting from static control pulses to dynamic control, which uses time-varying drives to tailor qubit properties and boost performance, is driving scalable quantum processor research. Researchers are continually researching at new qubit architectures and designs to improve scalability and performance. Noise reduction is still important.

Fast, Precise Gates Without Qubit Tuning

The novel theory easily translates qubit frequency modification to drive frequency modulation. This method uses fixed-frequency qubits, hence it does not require qubit frequency tunability. By altering microwave pulse frequency and amplitude, scientists may accurately regulate qubit interactions and perform complex quantum algorithms.

To optimise microwave pulses and analyse and create drives for optimal fidelity, the study uses Floquet theory. This paradigm includes adiabatic and nonadiabatic gates in the Floquet framework, making it applicable to many gate types and control methods. This work advances microwave-based quantum control and provides a methodical gate design parameter optimisation strategy.

Universal, high-fidelity gates

This innovative framework was validated by numerical simulations using normal transman qubit settings. Simulations demonstrate universal gate set implementation. The critical two-qubit CZ gate and single-qubit X, Hadamard, and phase gates are in this collection.

With control errors often around 0.1%, control performance is exceptional. According to initial statistics, increasing precision improves fidelity by 0.1%. Going beyond amplitude modulation lets researchers handle qubits more accurately and versatilely.

Quantum Operations Acceleration

This technology allows fast gate operation. Single-qubit gate times are 25–40 nanoseconds. Two qubit operations take 125–135 nanoseconds.

Even faster gate speeds of 80 to 90 ns were used to demonstrate an always-on CZ gate for driven qubits.

The researchers developed a quick quasiadiabatic approach to accelerate adiabatic gate dynamics. The control parameter's temporal profile is adjusted to shorten the gate duration while retaining uniform adiabaticity, speeding up the operation without compromising precision. The energy difference between qubit levels dynamically modifies the control signal in this manner.

BTQ becomes Europe's first fully integrated neutral atom quantum firm by buying QPerfect.

BTQ and QPerfect

A worldwide quantum technology business that protects mission-critical networks, BTQ Technologies Corp., exercised its option to fully purchase QPerfect SA. A major strategic manoeuvre. QPerfect is a well-known neutral atom quantum computing company based in Strasbourg, France, at the European Centre for Quantum Science (CESQ).

BTQ becomes the first fully integrated neutral atom quantum technology company to go public after a €2 million minority equity transaction. Subject to stock market and French foreign direct investment approval, the transaction should finalise by 2025 or January 2026.

Vertically Integrating Quantum Platform

The acquisition transformed BTQ from a post-quantum security expert to a full-stack, fully integrated quantum technology company that includes computers and quantum cryptography. By combining encryption, emulation, and fault-tolerant quantum control under a single corporate structure, BTQ hopes to accelerate the global migration to quantum-safe infrastructure.

CEO Olivier Roussy Newton said the acquisition makes BTQ Technologies a vertically integrated quantum technology pioneer, merging hardware and software capabilities to produce quantum-secure industrial solutions. This roadmap integrates hardware, software, security, and neutral atom computing, making BTQ a credible quantum solution provider.

Integrating Advanced Quantum Technologies

The MIMIQ emulator and Quantum Logical Unit (QLU) control framework are QPerfect's major products that tackle key quantum technology deployment barriers.

Commercial Traction and MIMIQ Emulator One of the most advanced quantum emulators is MIMIQ. Before deploying quantum algorithms on hardware, developers can swiftly design and test them in software. MIMIQ is licensed through recurring software contracts and cooperative R&D. Leading quantum companies and enterprise clients in North America, Asia, and Europe use it.

Eureka (France and Singapore) and peer-reviewed articles with major hardware partners have shown the platform's size and accuracy in error correction and control system modelling. This validation is important because QuEra and Quantinuum, two industry leaders selected for Stage B of the DARPA Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, collaborated.

QLU, or Quantum Logical Unit The QLU is a multi-layered framework and critical control layer that ensures system stability and enables scalable, fault-tolerant quantum system deployment outside of labs. QPerfect is developing a QLU prototype to bridge machine-level error-corrected code and high-level quantum circuits for neutral atom quantum processors.

Competitiveness and European Growth

QPerfect's integration makes it Europe's leading software-driven neutral atom designer, according to BTQ. The merged BTQ and QPerfect entity prioritises the software and control layer (MIMIQ and QLU) needed to make neutral atom systems practical, error-tolerant, and interoperable, while competitors focus on huge hardware arrays. A modular stack comprising the QLU and MIMIQ may connect with several academic applications and neutral atom approaches, like aQCess in France.

BTQ will locate its European R&D in Strasbourg at CESQ to strengthen partnerships with renowned institutions and national programs. This localisation in a strong academic and industry context aims to speed up the transition from quality science to solid, marketable products. The Strasbourg centre plans to test quantum-safe digital signatures in operational systems and the QLU on local neutral atom hardware.

Strategy for Quantum Advantage

The united company will commercialise quantum-secure applications using a strategic roadmap:

Develop a blueprint for quantum one-shot signatures, a post-quantum cryptographic primitive for scalable quantum systems, and start the QLU prototype.

Hardware Integration & Demonstrations: Test quantum one-shot signatures on real hardware and demonstrate the QLU prototype using neutral atom hardware being built in Strasbourg, bridging physics and cryptography in practice.

Quantum Advantage and Industrialisation: Demonstrate commercial quantum advantage on scalable neutral atom platforms to start industrialising BTQ's fault-tolerant quantum computing systems and enable post-quantum cryptography applications.

German SmaraQ Project Uses Quantum Optics on Chip for Scalable Ion Traps

SmaraQ, a new German research group, is miniaturising optical devices to govern ion-trap qubits, scaling quantum computer hardware. The German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space finances this September 2025–2028 project. Lithographically produced on-chip components could enable powerful and compact quantum processors instead of massive free-space optics arrays.

Like the Smaragdkolibri (Blue-tailed Emerald Hummingbird), the project is small and accurate in UV light sensing and navigation. To preserve Germany and Europe's quantum technological sovereignty, SmaraQ is building a robust domestic supply chain.

Addressing Scalability Bottleneck

Among the most promising quantum designs are ion-trap quantum computers. Qubits made of naturally occurring charged atoms (ions) have unparalleled coherence times and qubit control accuracy. Due to their stability and accuracy, ion-trap devices have accurately demonstrated complex quantum algorithms. QUDORA Technologies GmbH's NFQC (Near-Field Quantum Control) technology, vital to their products, shows how this method can meet high performance requirements.

However, scaling these technologies is a major industry hurdle. Researchers must increase qubits from tens to hundreds or thousands to solve commercially critical challenges. Existing designs require many laser beams to precisely target each qubit for initialisation, cooling (to keep the ion stationary and suspended), and quantum gate operations.

These crucial optical processes are performed by large, complicated optical benches outside the vacuum chamber housing the ions. These benches contain mirrors, lenses, beam splitters, modulators, and hundreds of other delicate parts that must be aligned within micrometres. The size and complexity of this apparatus limit the processor's physical size and the amount of qubits it can efficiently control. Packing hundreds of laser beams into a processor assembly causes rapid technical issues, preventing industrial growth.

Precision on Chip: Integrated Solution

SmaraQ addresses this complex problem with advanced photonic integration. Advanced UV waveguides and photonic elements that can be printed directly onto ion-trap chips are the key technological achievement. UV light is needed to manage trapped ions' energy levels.

Waveguide devices at the nanometre scale replace heavy, free-space optics for distant light transmission in the revolutionary method. Hair is thousands of times thicker than these structures. “On-chip integration represents the path forward for ion-trap quantum computing,” said QUDORA Photonics Head Maik Scheller. He stated that the group is constructing nanometre waveguide devices 10 thousand times smaller than a human hair to deliver light to ion qubits. Dr. Scheller calls the switch from free-space optics to integrated photonics “the single most important architectural change needed to unlock true scalability”.

Materials science is crucial to the project. The consortium focusses on aluminium nitride (AlN) and aluminium oxide (AlO₃) for their transparency and stability at UV wavelengths for ion-qubit manipulation. Importantly, lithography, the same high-precision fabrication technology used in the semiconductor sector, can mass-produce identical, superior optical components. This technology makes manually aligning hundreds of optical pieces cheaper and easier.

Cooperation and Domestic Supply Chain To succeed, SmaraQ needs the complementary talents of its three top German partners, who form a vertical supply chain for supporting technology:

As system integrator and project coordinator, QUDORA Technologies GmbH manages the architecture and brings the technology to market. Their extensive knowledge of ion-trap quantum system specifications ensures that the parts work properly in quantum processors.

The Fraunhofer IAF focusses on crucial materials science. Fraunhofer IAF epitaxially grows thin-film AlN wafers to excellent quality. AlN is the primary substrate for UV waveguides, and its world-class quality is crucial for high-fidelity light delivery and light loss reduction.

AMO GmbH: Using nanotechnology, AMO designs and manufactures the chips' intricate photonic components. Accurate lithographic patterning and etching are needed to transform the unprocessed AlN/AlO₃ layer into precise waveguide structures for UV light.

This alliance aims to strengthen Germany's supply chain for these critical supporting technologies. The SmaraQ project develops materials, fabrication methods, and system integration knowledge locally to support the BMFTR's goal of technological sovereignty in key quantum supply chains.

Future Strategic Implications

Following the BMFTR's clear assertion that industrial translation of quantum research is a national priority, the SmaraQ project is a measured investment in Germany and Europe's high-tech future.

By integrating complex optical control systems onto a semiconductor, ion-trap quantum computers become economically viable. By substantially reducing quantum hardware size, power consumption, and manufacturing complexity, SmaraQ accelerates the transfer of these powerful devices from research labs to commercial deployment. This breakthrough enables the production of scalable quantum processors with higher reliability and throughput, like silicon chips.

If successful, on-chip photonic control will enable fault-tolerant quantum computation. To execute complex error correction codes, fault tolerance requires a huge number of qubits and precise, customised control over each one. SmaraQ's contribution is vital to the global endeavour to develop practical quantum technology. Germany will lead quantum sensing and quantum computing, which often require precision optical control systems, if this technology is successfully implemented.

Acoustic Strain Waves Pioneer Germanium Qubit Noise-Free Quantum Control

Acoustic Strain Control

New research employs mechanical stress from acoustic waves to modify quantum states in non-piezoelectric materials like germanium (Ge). Acoustic strain control uses Surface Acoustic Waves to dynamically modulate the quantum properties of germanium quantum dots (QDs) for scalable quantum computer architectures.

Germanium: Clean Platform Benefits

Germanium, especially in Germanium-on-Silicon (GoS) heterostructures, drives this breakthrough. Due to its centrosymmetric crystal lattice and Group IV semiconductor status, germanium is piezoelectrically immune. Non-piezoelectric systems eliminate charge noise, which occurs in piezoelectric systems due to phonon-charge fluctuations.

Group IV materials like Ge can be intentionally enriched with zero-nuclear-spin isotopes. This isotopic purification eliminates hyperfine interactions, the fundamental cause of spin decoherence in many semiconductors, generating a “ultra-quiet” nuclear spin environment and allowing long spin coherence periods. Ge and pure silicon suppress hyperfine and piezoelectric-originated phonons, making them suitable substrates for scalable quantum information processing.

By using germanium's slower sound speed than neighbouring materials like silicon, the GoS material stack helps confinement. This difference in acoustic velocity naturally limits phonons in the active germanium quantum well layer, increasing qubit-acoustic wave interaction without complex hanging structures.

In acoustic strain management, surface acoustic waves (SAWs) from interdigitated transducers (IDTs) transport dynamic strain fields (compressive and tensile) across the substrate. Strain is an active degree of freedom that connects quantum states and changes semiconductor band structure.

Strain greatly affects spin state interactions, especially in the heavy-hole (HH) and light-hole (LH) bands. The strain can boost coupling to external control fields by controlling these interactions, raising Rabi frequency. By changing the SAW's frequency and amplitude, the strain field's magnitude and periodicity may be controlled.

In compressively strained GoS platforms, intrinsic strain reduces valence band degeneracy, separates HH and LH states, and improves spin-orbit interactions (SOIs) for rapid, all-electrical hole spin qubit control. Recent results show that inhomogeneous strain can directly affect the spin degree of freedom, leading in g-factor gradients and position-dependent Rashba SOIs for electrically driven spin resonance.

Engineer Acoustic Channels for Mechanical Coupling To ensure the coupling mechanism in the active germanium channel is mechanical and non-piezoelectric, researchers investigated alternative acoustic channel materials. Traditional SAW generating uses AlN and other piezoelectric materials. Aluminium oxide replaced Al2O3 in the high-quality acoustic channel part, preserving its integrity in simulations. possesses sound speed comparable to Al2O3 despite not being piezoelectric, ensuring better mode matching between parts. Time-dependent simulations showed that this material substitution sustained acoustic behaviour, demonstrating a strong mechanical link.

Exact Placement and Practicality

Effective quantum control requires the spatial relationship between the moving SAW and quantum dots. Researchers observed that a double quantum dot (DQD) system's differential strain is maximised when two dots are half a wavelength apart along the SAW axis. This exact location produces a phase offset in the strain field, ensuring that one dot has a strain maximum and the other a minimum to maximise contrast in their reaction to the SAW and increase coherent driving of spin-flip transitions.

Theory using the Bir–Pikus formalism quantified strain's impact on hole energy levels. Rayleigh-type SAWs at gigahertz (GHz) frequency can provide dynamic strain profiles for quantum state manipulations, according to simulations. Simulations indicate that an optimal DQD location can result in a strain amplitude of 1.75×103 percent, resulting in an estimated spin energy detuning of 105 μeV at 1.45 GHz. An IDT with a minimal driving voltage of 86 mV showed a strain level comparable to an estimated spin-state energy shift of 65 μeV.

Scalable Quantum Architecture Prospects

This study shows that SAW-induced strain can regulate quantum states in lateral gated quantum dot systems in non-piezoelectric platforms like germanium.

This approach can precisely shift spin states for high-fidelity qubits via acoustic strain, which has huge implications for quantum information processing. Quantum sensing uses acoustic waves to convey quantum information to detect extremely low-energy events, and spectroscopy allows researchers to study QD-phonon interactions.

Milad Marvian of the University of New Mexico received a DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Program Award to develop randomised protocols for strong quantum optimal control and noise characterisation to improve quantum processor reliability. Business-grade quantum computing requires noise-resilient quantum gates and better error measurement and mitigation tools. The five-year project addresses these issues.

Why it matters to industry

From lab prototypes to production pilots, control and noise reduction are used in banking, healthcare, energy, logistics, and communications. Optimisation and simulation workloads won't meet corporate reliability criteria without fast and repeatable noise characterisation and high-fidelity gates.

Marvian's project focusses on randomisation tactics to reduce systematic mistakes and shorten proof-of-concept timescales by lowering calibration repeats, test cycles, and engineer-hours needed to maintain target reliability on cloud or on-prem systems.

As CEOs budget quantum efforts, the award indicates where people and IP will focus. UNM's Centre for Quantum Information and Control (CQuIC) is a national leader in theoretical QIS, supported by NSF, and participates in the DOE Quantum Systems Accelerator (QSA), a multi-institution effort that parallels commercialization's control, error-correction, and characterisation layers. Hardware, cryogenics, control electronics, and post-quantum security pilots near theory depth and ecosystem linkages minimise integration risk and increase partner discovery.

DOE Early Career Grants provide university PIs with ~$875,000 over five years and national lab awardees with ~$2.75M. Repeatable tooling, robust student pipelines, and reusable test harnesses are what organisations require when structuring multi-phase trials. The initiative often supports 80+ researchers per unit, suggesting federal momentum.

In January 2025, DOE announced $71 million for Quantum Information Science initiatives (QuantISED 2.0), stressing a larger capital stack for quantum control, error prevention, and algorithms. Expect neighbouring grants and user-facility access to boost Early Career awards.

A build-and-compound research pipeline, not a one-off win, as shown by UNM/CQuIC's $7.5 million DOE quantum algorithm theory work and NSF CAREER (2023) to develop low-overhead error correction.

Possible changes on the ground

1) Improvements in reliability and pilot speed: Randomised optimum control reduces calibration errors and enhances gate stability under environmental conditions. That means shorter POC setup times, fewer babysitting cycles, and cheaper hardware experimentation costs for organisations. Generalising approaches across platforms (superconducting, trapped ions, neutral atoms) reduces vendor lock-in risk for early adopters.

2) Better noise characterisation leads to better task placement: With better noise tomography and characterisation, teams may more consistently assign workloads to devices or error-mitigated/hybrid modes. That can boost optimisation, Monte Carlo acceleration, and small-molecule/fragment simulation throughput, allowing business owners defend ROI estimates to boards and audit committees.

3) Stronger regional cluster effects: UNM is part of a dense collaborative network of user facilities, national labs, and peer universities as an NSF Focused Research Hub in Theoretical Physics and DOE QSA partner. Albuquerque is appealing to corporates seeking combined app-teams, sabbaticals, or sponsored research on control, algorithms, and error-correction.

Competitive effects

Hardware platforms and vendors: Calibration overhead reduction and gate dependability are strategic immediately. Hardware providers with randomised control toolchains in their SDKs and services can claim faster time-to-fidelity and cheaper TCO for customers, attractive differentiators in a market with buyer objections to error rates and duty cycles. As providers rush to promote fidelity improvements, pulse-level frameworks and cloud runtimes will integrate faster.

Integrators and cloud providers: Hyperscalers and specialised integrators can move managed services from “exploratory” to “pre-production” with SLAs related to stability windows and error-mitigated throughput as control improves. Better noise characterisation helps schedulers decide when to execute a circuit on NISQ hardware vs. classical emulators or hybrid pipelines and when to relocate regions or devices depending on drift measures.

The quantified upside of portfolio risk (BFSI), route/power-flow optimisation (logistics & energy), radio resource scheduling (telecom), and material discovery (chem/pharma) gives enterprise adopters leverage in vendor negotiations. If randomised control decreases tuning cycles, buyers can demand reduced pilot cost, faster milestone delivery, and renewals based on stability/fidelity deltas above baseline.

DOE Early Career Grants attract postdocs and PhDs for five years, stabilising labs. UNM/CQuIC helps organisations develop internal quantum teams recruit engineers and theorists with control, noise, and error correction skills, which shorten demo-to-deployment times.

Those affected

Competitive pressure to integrate randomised control and enhanced noise characterisation into toolchains and customer-facing SLAs for quantum hardware makers.

Cloud platforms and integrators: Productize “stability-aware” scheduling and hybrid execution to improve utilisation and user outcomes.

Enterprise early adopters: Improved governance and model-risk frameworks; higher probabilities of real-world pilot fidelity and latency targets.

Investors (CVC/VC): Back calibration automation, metrology, PQC ready, and diagnostics companies riding the control/characterization wave.

DOE and NSF benefit from personnel development and pipeline improvements into user facilities and National Quantum Initiative centres.

The nation's largest supporter of basic physical-science research, DOE's Early Career program, centres multi-year, peer-reviewed programs across eight program offices with clear eligibility requirements and predictable schedules (pre-applications and full applications months apart). Predictability helps institutions and companies set multi-year goals. Washington funds algorithms and the control stack that turns qubits into corporate value, signalling need for industry.