Stephan Weil visits Lower Saxony’s quantum computer prototype Minister President travels to Quantum Valley Lower Saxony

The quantum alliance Quantum Valley Lower Saxony is currently testing the first prototypes of a quantum computer. On Tuesday 31 May, the scientists from the Hannover-Braunschweig region presented their rapid progress to Lower Saxony’s Minister President Stephan Weil. As one of the founding partners of the alliance, Technische Universität Braunschweig presented contributions from nano- and semiconductor technology.

Lower Saxony’s first quantum computer will go into operation by 2025. With ion trap technology, the researchers of Quantum Valley Lower Saxony (QVLS) are using one of the most promising approaches currently available to develop scalable quantum computers. On Tuesday, Minister President Stephan Weil’s trip took him to the laboratories at Leibniz Universität Hannover, where ion traps are being used to create quantum computers.

Basic Technologies for Spillover Applications

Scientists at TU Braunschweig are developing basic technologies for the quantum computer of the QVLS. These basic technologies miniaturise, among other things, the quantum processors themselves, but also the photonic components for controlling light. Electronics must also become ever more precise. As part of the Minister President’s tour, some researchers from TU Braunschweig presented how these basic technologies are already having an impact on other fields of application. The focus was on super-compact microscopes that work with micrometre-small LED modules and superconducting quantum sensors that can detect corona in minutes.

Professor Dr Andreas Waag, spokesperson for QVLS at TU Braunschweig: “At TU Braunschweig, we bring physics and electrical engineering together in one faculty. This interdisciplinary strength comes together under one roof in our research centre for nanometrology, the LENA. There we research the technologies that turn prototypes into application-oriented quantum computers.”

About Quantum Valley Lower Saxony

Leading research institutions, companies and the state of Lower Saxony joined forces in October 2020 to form the Quantum Valley Lower Saxony (QVLS) alliance. The combined expertise of more than 400 scientists in the participating institutions includes 50 researchers from TU Braunschweig.

In addition to the projects and investments of more than 220 million euros in recent years, the state of Lower Saxony and the Volkswagen Foundation provided the initiative with 25 million euros in December 2020 as core funding for the construction of a quantum computer. This sum could be further increased within the framework of the currently ongoing federal tenders in order to further accelerate technological development. With the Metrology core research area, the QuantumFrontiers cluster of excellence and the “LENA” research centre for nanometrology, TU Braunschweig is a founding partner of the QVLS.