At the heart of EeroQ’s technology is the trapping and control of individual electrons floating above pools of superfluid helium. These electrons form the qubits of our quantum computer, and the purity of the superfluid helium protects the intrinsic quantum properties of each electron. EeroQ’s ultimate goal is to build a large-scale quantum computer based on quantum magnetic (spin) state of these trapped electrons.
Microchannels fabricated into silicon wafers are filled with superfluid helium and energized electrodes. Together with the natural electron trapping properties of superfluid helium, these allow for the precision trapping of individual or multiple electrons. The microchannels are only a few micrometers in size, or about five times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
Microchannel regions can store thousands of electrons, from which one can be plucked and transported to the single electron control and readout area. In this region, microwave signals will interact with the electron to perform quantum logic gate operations, which will be readout via extremely fast electronics.
Quantum information can be encoded in a number of ways using single electrons. Currently, we are working with the “side-to-side” (lateral) quantum motion of the electron in the engineered trap. This motion can either be in its lowest energy state, the ground state, or in a number of higher-energy excited states. This electron motion also provides the readout capabilities for EeroQ’s ultimate goal of building a large-scale quantum computer based on the electron’s magnetic moment (spin).
EeroQ’s qubit technology is at an earlier stage of engineering than some other qubits, but as we bring it to maturity it will offer some key advantages. Our system offers the promise of exceptionally long coherence times, high qubit connectivity, CMOS compatibility, fast gates, and the ability to fit millions of electrons on a single chip – no need for modular designs.