TU Delft assembles research team to tackle quantum transduction

A team of 14 quantum physicists and biophysicists at the Delft University of Technology have set out to find a transduction system to send and receive quantum information across a broad range of frequencies. This system would allow for a standardized way of connecting quantum devices and sharing information between them.

“We have no general bridge to transfer quantum information from qubits or quantum sensors to the telecommunication fabric that is surrounding the planet. Current computers generate information at a frequency of a few gigahertz, while telecom signals are vibrating a thousand times faster; at hundreds of terahertz. However, qubits operate at relatively specific frequencies of five to ten gigahertz. That means we need to find a bridge from the qubit range of a few gigahertz up to the telecom range of hundreds of gigahertz,” explains project coordinator Mazhar Ali.

Key challenge when using existing communication infrastructure for quantum communication, is to preserve quantum mechanical information while sharing the signal. “What we’d love to do is use the same forms of communication that we have while preserving quantum particle and phase information for a broad range of frequencies,” Ali adds.