QuTech and NNF Quantum Computing Programme (NQCP) have formalized their collaboration in a partnership agreement. The partnership is centered around the development of silicon-germanium epitaxial heterostructures for quantum processor chips. These materials pave the way for the operation of high-performance quantum processors.

High-performance qubits require high quality structures. Only with high quality structures can semiconductor-based quantum platforms be made operational to their fullest potential. One promising semiconductor material for such structures (i.e. spin qubits in gate-defined quantum dots) is silicon-germanium (SiGe). QuTech—a collaboration between Delft University of Technology and TNO—is a world leader in the development of SiGe materials for quantum technologies.

The silicon-germanium quantum materials, developed by Giordano Scappucci and his team at QuTech, enable landmark experiments in the field of quantum information and are used by researchers globally for the development of quantum technologies.

To facilitate the collaboration, TU Delft and NQCP have signed an agreement that aims to accelerate the development of an optimal crystalline environment for hosting high-performance semiconductor spin qubits and potentially other semiconductor-based quantum components on a chip. The agreement includes co-financing of a tool for the epitaxy of group IV materials to be installed at TU Delft and funding for a PhD scholarship. Once hired, the PhD candidate will have their workplace at QuTech under the supervision of Giordano Scappucci and focus on collaborative scientific projects with scientists and engineers at the NQCP Centre Hub and the Quantum Foundry in Copenhagen.

This partnership strengthens the research on spin qubits at NQCP and further expands the collaboration and exchange of ideas between NQCP and QuTech.

Example of a quantum chip featuring high quality silicon-germanium (SiGe) heterostructures, similar to the semiconductor-based quantum devices aimed to be developed in the partnership. Image credit: Cheeseworks for QuTech.