Quantum transduction and networking for scalable computing applications

As Google has demonstrated at a global scale, distributing computing resources in a modular fashion offers immense benefits over monolithic computing architectures, including robustness, cost, and performance. This is true at scales ranging from networks within a single computing facility to sharing information across continents. In order to reach maximum potential, quantum technology, such as the superconducting qubit platforms being developed by Google Quantum AI, will eventually need to operate in a distributed fashion. Within data centers, this has the ability to increase modularity and robustness in design, and decrease requirements for control wiring and cryogenics dramatically. In addition, quantum technology is expected to uniquely benefit from the ability to transmit quantum data collected from the world directly into a quantum computer for processing, in order to learn from quantum data or discover fundamentally new facets of our universe. We expect substantial developments in this area to impact both the design of near-term experiments and future architectures for the Google quantum device.

However, developing the required technologies at the quantum scale poses unique challenges as well. For example, high fidelity transfer of information between storage and computing media like superconducting qubits and transmission media like optical photons, a process also known as transduction, is underdeveloped. Given the potential benefits, we believe it is critical to support research enabling the transfer of quantum information between superconducting qubits and transmission media like optical or flying microwave qubits. This effort must be supported by the development of compelling applications for distributed quantum systems beyond parallel compute and quantum key distribution, which could fundamentally alter the trajectory of quantum technology.