Welcome

Since the 1960s, technological advances have enabled silicon transistors to keep shrinking, causing computational capability to grow exponentially. However, transistors cannot shrink much further; they are already so small that the laws of quantum mechanics begin to impair their performance. Fortunately, quantum mechanical behaviour also opens amazing new possibilities for computation. A well-developed theory for a radically new Quantum Information Technology proves that computers that rely fundamentally on quantum mechanics can potentially solve many important computational problems that will remain forever intractable using conventional computers. This will impact fields as diverse as drug development, design and discovery of new materials, machine learning, and cryptography.

We are working to build quantum technologies using silicon, the very same material currently used to make transistors and computer chips for the giant ‘classical’ computing industry. Very fortunately, silicon also hosts arguably the best quantum bits (‘qubits’) in the industry. We are particularly excited about an opportunity to link the excellent spin qubits associated with a number of luminescent defects in silicon with photon qubits. Much of our current work concerns the development and proof of principle of this ‘photonic link’ in silicon. Not only will photonic qubits enable links between various spin qubits, they also can be used to link multiple quantum chips — towards what some call a ‘quantum internet’. This approach will also have concrete scale-up advantages including higher-temperature operation, ease of manufacturing, and robust and atomically identical qubits. If we’re successful, this platform will be used not only to make a quantum computer but also to make provably secure quantum communication, quantum sensors, and more.

People

  • Stephanie Simmons

    Stephanie Simmons

    Principal Investigator

  • Mike Thewalt

    Mike Thewalt

    Principal Investigator

  • Daniel Higginbottom

    Daniel Higginbottom

    Principal Investigator

  • Melanie Gascoine

    Melanie Gascoine

    Lab Manager

  • Yehudah Ackermann

    Yehudah Ackermann

    Research Engineer

  • Ian Kennedy

    Ian Kennedy

    Research Technician

  • Adam DeAbreu

    Adam DeAbreu

    PhD Candidate

  • Camille Bowness

    Camille Bowness

    PhD Candidate

  • Michael Dobinson

    Michael Dobinson

    PhD Candidate

  • Austin Woolverton

    Austin Woolverton

    PhD Candidate

  • Moein Kazemi

    Moein Kazemi

    PhD Candidate

  • Joshua Kanaganayagam

    Joshua Kanaganayagam

    MSc Candidate

  • Nicholas Brunelle

    Nicholas Brunelle

    PhD Candidate

  • Mehdi Keshavarz

    Mehdi Keshavarz

    PhD Candidate

Past Members

  • Chloe Clear

    Chloe Clear

    Postdoctoral Fellow

  • Camille Chartrand

    Camille Chartrand

    MSc Graduate

  • Amir Alizadeh

    Amir Alizadeh

    Postdoctoral Fellow

  • Leea Stott

    Leea Stott

    MSc Graduate

  • Sara Hosseini

    Sara Hosseini

    Postdoctoral Fellow

  • Larissa Veryha

    Larissa Veryha

    Lab Manager

  • Myles Ruether

    Myles Ruether

    Research Technician

  • Jean-François Caron

    Jean-François Caron

    Research Technician

  • Kevin Morse

    Kevin Morse

    Research Technician

  • Alexander Kurkjian

    Alexander Kurkjian

    MSc Graduate

  • Nicholas Lee-Hone

    Nicholas Lee-Hone

    Research Technician

  • Danica Marsden

    Danica Marsden

    Research Technician

  • Evan MacQuarrie

    Evan MacQuarrie

    Postdoctoral Fellow

  • Rohan Abraham

    Rohan Abraham

    PhD Graduate

  • Laurent Bergeron

    Laurent Bergeron

    MSc Graduate

  • Timothy Richards

    Timothy Richards

    MSc Graduate

  • Hamish Johnson

    Hamish Johnson

    Summer Student

  • Nadia Chigmaroff

    Nadia Chigmaroff

    Summer Student

  • Stephen Harrigan

    Stephen Harrigan

    Summer Student

  • Betka Medveďová

    Betka Medveďová

    Summer Student

Publications

A subset of our most recent publications.

Thermal activation of valley-orbit states of neutral magnesium in silicon
Rohan Abraham, Valentina Shuman, Leonid Portsel, Anatoly Lodygin, Yuri Astrov, Nikolay Abrosimov, Sergey Pavlov, Heinz-Wilhelm Hübers, Stephanie Simmons, Michael Thewalt (2020)

Characterization of the T center in 28Si
L. Bergeron, C. Chartrand, A. T. K. Kurkjian, K. J. Morse, H. Riemann, N. V. Abrosimov, P. Becker, H. -J. Pohl, M. L. W. Thewalt, S. Simmons (2020)

A silicon-integrated telecom photon-spin interface
L. Bergeron, C. Chartrand, A. T. K. Kurkjian, K. J. Morse, H. Riemann, N. V. Abrosimov, P. Becker, H. -J. Pohl, M. L. W. Thewalt, S. Simmons (2020)

A Mg-pair isoelectronic bound exciton identified by its isotopic fingerprint in 28Si
Rohan Abraham, Adam DeAbreu, Kevin Morse, Valentina Shuman, Leonid Portsel, Anatoly Lodygin, Yuri Astrov, Nikolay Abrosimov, Sergey Pavlov, Heinz-Wilhelm Hübers, Stephanie Simmons, Michael Thewalt (2018)

Characterization of the Si:Se+ spin-photon interface
Adam DeAbreu, Camille Bowness, Rohan J. S. Abraham, Alzbeta Medvedova, Kevin J. Morse, Helge Riemann, Nikolay V. Abrosimov, Peter Becker, Hans-Joachim Pohl, Michael L. W. Thewalt, Stephanie Simmons (2018)

Further investigations of the deep double donor magnesium in silicon
Rohan Abraham, Adam DeAbreu, Kevin Morse, Valentina Shuman, Leonid Portsel, Anatoly Lodygin, Yuri Astrov, Nikolay Abrosimov, Sergey Pavlov, Heinz-Wilhelm Hübers, Stephanie Simmons, Michael Thewalt (2018)

Highly enriched 28Si reveals remarkable optical linewidths and fine structure for well-known damage centers
C. Chartrand, L. Bergeron, K. J. Morse, H. Riemann, N. V. Abrosimov, P. Becker, H. -J. Pohl, S. Simmons, M. L. W. Thewalt (2018)

Zero field optical magnetic resonance study of phosphorus donors in 28-silicon
Kevin J. Morse, Phillip Dluhy, Julian Huber, Jeff Z. Salvail, Kamyar Saeedi, Helge Riemann, Nikolay V. Abrosimov, Peter Becker, Hans-Joachim Pohl, S. Simmons, M. L. W. Thewalt (2018)

A photonic platform for donor spin qubits in silicon
Kevin J. Morse, Rohan J. S. Abraham, Helge Riemann, Nikolai V. Abrosimov, Peter Becker, Hans-Joachim Pohl, Michael L. W. Thewalt, Stephanie Simmons (2016)

29Si nuclear spins as a resource for donor spin qubits in silicon
Gary Wolfowicz, Pierre-Andre Mortemousque, Roland Guichard, Stephanie Simmons, Mike L. W. Thewalt, Kohei M. Itoh, John J. L. Morton (2015)