QLCI: Manufacturable and Resilient Superconducting Quantum Information Systems (MARQUIS)

Quantum computers have the potential to tackle problems that are beyond the reach of classical computers, but only if they can be scaled to larger system sizes with high performance. This project aims to accelerate the development of scalable quantum computers by improving the tiny superconducting devices that form their core. Quantum computers based on superconducting circuits have made rapid progress in recent years, including demonstrations of quantum error correction, but current systems remain limited by poor single-qubit performance, variability in fabrication, and challenges in scaling to larger processors. A major source of these limitations is the Josephson junction; a nanoscale device element made from materials and fabrication methods that have changed little in more than two decades. This QLCI, Manufacturable and Resilient superconducting QUantum Information Systems (MARQUIS), assembles a synergistic collaboration, bringing expertise from materials, processing, devices, and measurement in semiconductor devices, photonics, and spintronics together with experts in superconducting qubits to tackle the critical challenges for enabling large-scale superconducting quantum processors. Specifically, the Quantum Leap Grand Challenge that this institute will tackle is the development of new technologies for scalable quantum processors by building a better Josephson junction - the heart of any superconducting qubit - and ensuring that these new junctions can be translated to robust, scalable processes. Through coordinated cross-disciplinary development and with regular input from industry, national laboratories, and other community members, the institute will create the foundational science, translatable technology, and education and workforce training pipelines to bring scalable superconducting quantum computing processors to reality, thereby serving the national interest in scientific progress, economic prosperity, and defense. Large-scale quantum processors based on superconducting qubits require major advances in device performance, reliability, and scalability. The Josephson junction (JJ) for qubits has seen no significant advances for over 25 years, and very few material systems have been explored. The institute’s approach is to apply deep expertise in materials and nanofabrication from the semiconductor community to develop new JJs for scalable, reliable quantum devices, and to build core infrastructure and supporting technologies to derisk deploying these new materials at the wafer scale. To catalyze progress on this grand challenge, the institute is organized around three research challenges: (1) Resilient JJ materials and process innovations, (2) Testbeds for novel JJs, and (3) Mid-scale quantum processors and manufacturability. By bringing together experts from the semiconductor and materials science communities with quantum information experts to tackle these research challenges, the institute will develop a new discipline, materials science for QIS, distinct from past efforts in either constituent field. Under these driving principles, the institute will establish new education and workforce development programs for all career stages to train the next-generation quantum workforce. In doing so, MARQUIS will transform the Josephson junction from a 25-year-old bottleneck into the manufacturable, resilient foundation on which the first generation of useful superconducting quantum computers can be built. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.