4 December 2024

Can qubits, the fundamental units of quantum computing, be entangled using light? How can we developr novel approaches for faster and more energy-efficient information processing systems? These are among the questions that three research teams from MCQST aim to answer with the support of prestigious ERC Consolidator Grants.

Prof. Dr. Michael Knap

The susceptibility to disturbances from external influences is one of the major challenges for the reliability of quantum computers. The research project DynaQuant, led by Prof. Michael Knap from the Chair of Collective Quantum Dynamics at TUM, investigates how specific properties of quantum states can be leveraged to develop more robust and efficient systems. The focus is on topological quantum states with particularly exotic properties. The aim is to develop new methods to better understand the behavior of these states, especially under non-equilibrium conditions. The results could contribute to the development of new quantum technologies and significantly advance secure data processing.

Michael Knap is Professor of Collecitve Quantum Dynamics. His research was recognized with an ERC Starting Grant in 2019.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Reiserer

Quantum technology has the potential to revolutionize the future of data processing, from ultra-fast computers to highly secure communication networks. A team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), led by Prof. Andreas Reiserer, is working on the OpENSpinS project to combine the wide bandwidth and long reach of photons (light particles) with the reliable and long-lasting storage of qubits in silicon. Silicon, well-known as the standard material in microelectronics, serves as the foundation. Instead of electronic spins, the team aims to use the durable nuclear spins of erbium atoms, which can be entangled using light. This approach seeks to enable qubits to be interconnected over greater distances—a critical step towards building larger quantum networks.

Andreas Reiserer has been Professor of Quantum Networks at TUM since 2022.

Dr. Matthias Althammer

In the project “Pseudospin-based Antiferromagnetic Magnonics (POSA)”, Dr. Matthias Althammer, group leader at the Walther-Meißner-Institute, address the important problem that in our information-driven society, the demand for more powerful and faster information processing systems is continuously increasing – and the same is true for the associated energy consumption. Therefore, there is an urgent need for novel approaches that allow for faster and, most importantly, more energy-efficient information processing. Today, information technology is dominated by electronics, where the charge of the electrons is used in information-processing devices. Besides its charge, electrons also possess a spin, representing an angular momentum and being associated with a magnetic moment. This spin is an intrinsic property, which can assume two discrete states along a quantization axis, making it ideal for binary information encoding. Therefore, the spin is already routinely exploited in the research field called spintronics and successfully used for information storage in non-volatile magnetic random-access memories or magnetic hard disks. A key question is how to efficiently transport information encoded in the spin degree of freedom. Here, a promising approach is to use the quantized excitations of the magnetic lattice in electrically insulating ferromagnets or antiferromagnets, called magnons. The realization of this interesting approach is at the heart of the project POSA, which will explore the full potential of antiferromagnetic magnonics. An important goal of the project is to realize so-called antiferromagnetic spin-torque oscillators, which enable the conversion of DC charge currents into THz magnons. The unique properties of these oscillators enable their use as artificial neurons. The ultimate goal is to link these artificial neurons via magnons to realize a spiking artificial neuronal network. Implementing this concept provides the perspective to achieve a novel type of artificial neuronal network with low power consumption and fast operation speed.

Dr. Matthias Althammer, a research group leader at the Walther-Meißner-Institute (WMI) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BAdW) and lecturer at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).

About the ERC Consolidator Grants

The ERC awards Consolidator Grants (ERC-CoG) to established scientists with 7-12 years of experience since completion of PhD, having an outstanding scientific track record and presenting an excellent research proposal. The funding is provided through the EU’s Horizon Europe program. The grants, awarded up to € 2 million for a period of 5 years, are very prestigious. In the last round, only 14.2% of the total of 2313 submitted proposals have been selected for funding.