Jacob Blackmore (University of Oxford)
Networked quantum computing with trapped ions
Trapped atomic ions have proved to be one of the most compelling candidates for building a large-scale fault tolerant quantum computer. They offer the highest fidelity single- and two-qubit gate operations of any mainstream quantum computing platform as well as excellent coherence times. However, scaling to large numbers of qubits in a single device is challenging. A solution to this challenge is to network discrete nodes together, using single photons. In this talk I will present work on the Oxford two-qubit quantum network: the fastest, highest fidelity quantum network of discrete nodes in the world. I will focus on recent improvements to the system and our proof-of-principle implementations of blind and distributed quantum computing which demonstrate key building blocks towards a full fault-tolerant ion-trap quantum computer. I will also discuss the technical challenges that this networked approach brings and elaborate on the potential solutions that optical cavities and modern microfabrication technologies enable as well as preliminary data on the next generation of quantum network based around trapped ions.