While the race to build the most powerful quantum computer heats up, one constant emerges across competing technologies: the pivotal role of optics and photonics in enabling scalability, efficiency, and integration.
bobsguide.com, Jan. 15, 2025 –
Quantum computers can be built in many ways. You may be familiar with the competing modalities claiming to offer various advantages over others in terms of quality, scalability, cost, and more. However, it is increasingly apparent across them all that new generations of optics and photonics technologies will be essential. This opens an exciting supply chain opportunity for many players, old and new, in the photonics eco-system. It creates a chance to claim future market share of what IDTechEx forecasts to be a quantum computing hardware market worth over $US10B by 2045 in their latest report, "Quantum Computing Market 2025-2045: Technology, Trends, Players, Forecasts".
The main categories of quantum computing hardware modality are superconducting, trapped-ion, neutral atom, photonic, silicon-spin, diamond and topological. Whilst their specific designs can be incredibly different, much of the fundamental blueprint remains the same. Moreover, optics and photonics play a role within multiple core functions in various hardware approaches. This includes readout, cooling and control, modular connectivity and data center integration.
Photon detectors and imaging for readout systems
Many methods of reading out the solution of a problem solved with a quantum computer use photon detectors or imaging.
Ironically, within photonic quantum computing itself there is often a need for such highly sensitive single photon detection that superconducting nanowires are utilized to achieve this. As a result, ongoing efforts are to integrate superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) into photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Indeed, one of the leaders in photonic quantum computing PsiQuantum have disclosed that their roadmaps include research into higher temperatures SNSPDs based on manufacturable metals.
Ultimately this represents a wider opportunity for more accurate single photon detectors for photonics quantum computing read-out purposes which reduces the compromise on cooling power and space this sub-sector is currently facing. Such innovations could prove crucial in unlocking the value proposition of the large-scale fault-tolerant photonic quantum computing sub-sector, for whom their 'hot qubits' seek to offer a reduced infrastructure complexity to its superconducting competitors.