Quantum News Briefs June 29: Infleqtion marks milestone with first UK sale of quantum clock, Tiqker • Quantum technology companies set for big tax incentives under new Illinois law • MIT’s diamond qubits redefining the future of quantum computing
News Briefs:
Infleqtion marks milestone with first UK sale of quantum clock, Tiqker
Infleqtion announced on June 27 the first UK commercial delivery of its groundbreaking optical atomic clock, Tiqker™, to the University of Strathclyde. This marks a historic milestone as the first sale and commercial delivery of any optical atomic clock within the UK.
The Tiqker unit, delivered to the laboratory of Professor Erling Riis, signifies a promising collaboration between Infleqtion and Professor Riis’s research group. Renowned for its stability and robustness, as demonstrated by recent flight trials, Tiqker is set to revolutionize navigation and precision timekeeping, establishing a new standard in Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) technology. Tiqker offers hydrogen maser-like short-term performance in a compact size, weight, and power package, with a Cs-Beam-like holdover of up to seven days.
The National Timing Centre (NTC) and NPL Quantum programmes have embarked on developing the UK’s first nationally distributed timing infrastructure and new measurement capabilities to support the development of new quantum technologies. These initiatives allow the UK to reduce reliance on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and improve the resilience of Critical National Infrastructure while also driving research and development into future timekeeping technologies such as Tiqker. Enhanced time and frequency signals will spur innovation in technologies such as smart grids, time-critical 5G and 6G applications, factories of the future, smart cities, and connected autonomous vehicles.
In Other News:
In Other News: Biz Journals reports “Quantum technology companies set for big tax incentives under new Illinois law”
BizJournals reported on June 28 that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has given final approval to a plan to bolster the state’s tech industry, including an incentives package – backed by $500 million in the state budget – aimed at making Illinois the nation’s leader in quantum computing.
Proponents of the legislation, which include a who’s who of business leaders and representatives of organized labor, say it will help attract businesses to the state, encourage growth and generate jobs. The programs will generate an estimated $21 billion in new state revenue over the next 30 years, according to the governor’s office.
In Other News: SciTechDaily dicsusses “MIT’s diamond qubits redefining the future of quantum computing”
Researchers at MIT and MITRE have developed a scalable, modular quantum hardware platform, incorporating thousands of qubits on a single chip, promising enhanced control and scalability according to June 28 ScitechDaily. Utilizing diamond color centers, this new architecture supports extensive quantum communication networks and introduces an innovative lock-and-release fabrication process to efficiently integrate these qubits with existing semiconductor technologies.
This “quantum-system-on-chip” (QSoC) architecture enables the researchers to precisely tune and control a dense array of qubits. Multiple chips could be connected using optical networking to create a large-scale quantum communication network.
By tuning qubits across 11 frequency channels, this QSoC architecture allows for a new proposed protocol of “entanglement multiplexing” for large-scale quantum computing.
While there are many types of qubits, the researchers chose to use diamond color centers because of their scalability advantages. They previously used such qubits to produce integrated quantum chips with photonic circuitry.
