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Find out about the recent work of our quantum experts.

2023 achievements

• We start the year with a paper from the Ion Quantum Technology group published by Nature Communications, led by Dr Mariam Akhtar: A High-Fidelity Quantum Matter-Link Between Ion-Trap Microchip Modules. The researchers demonstate for the first time that quantum bits can directly transfer between quantum computer microchips with record-breaking speed and accuracy.

2022 at a glance

• Prof. Matthias Keller of our Ion Trap Cavity-QED and Molecular Physics group has an article published in Contemporary Physics titled Cavity-QED with Single Trapped Ions.
• Physicists from University of Sussex spin-out company, Universal Quantum, have secured a record-breaking investment from the German government to build a truly scalable trapped ion quantum computer within the next four years. Read more about Prof. Winfried Hensinger and Dr Sebastian Weidt's achievement, here.
• The University of Sussex Research with Impact seminar series ran a webinar focusing on quantum technology research at the University. Several of our staff and PhD students were invited to explain how research undertaken at the Centre is impacting wider technological advances. Watch the recording here. 
• In October, Prof. Winfried Hensinger offered an inspiring speech to launch the Mid Sussex STEM challenge, as reported here in Sussex World. The next generation of engineers will research and create a remote-controlled vehicle that can navigate an obstacle course at the South of England showground.
• Dr Jose Galiana Verdu of our Geonium Chip group has been awarded a share of UKRI funding worth £6m. The grant of £500,000 for 2-3 years will be funded by STFC via the call Developing Quantum Technologies for Fundamental Physics. Read about his goal to develop a quantum microwave sensor capable of measuring the absolute mass of the neutrino particle in The Quantum Insider.

• A paper published in Nature by Prof. Alessia Pasquazi and her team includes research carried out by EPic Lab at Sussex: Self-Emergence of Robust Solitons in a Micro-Cavity details how the group have overcome a major obstacle in producing a portable atomic clock. Read more about this story here.

• Members of our EPic Lab attended the Advanced Photonics Congress in Maastricht in July to present a range of their research: 'Frequency control of Laser Cavity Solitons for metrological applications' (Antonio Cutrona), 'Terahertz 3D micro-tomography via time-resolved nonlinear ghost imaging' (Dr Luana Olivieri), 'Deterministic Terahertz wave control in complex media' (Vivek Kumar), and 'Spatiotemporal superfocusing of ultrafast Terahertz waves in complex media' (Vittorio Cecconi).
• The Ion Quantum Technology group present some of the quantum control methods used for dealing with noise for trapped ions with a focus on static magnetic field gradients and microwaves approaches. Read more in their paper Quantum Control Methods for Robust Entanglement of Trapped Ions.
• Our Centre Director, Prof. Winfried Hensinger, featured on BBC 5 Live Breakfast show explaining why the UK is leading in the development of quantum computing, with applications ranging from the pharmaceutical and financial sectors, to fertiliser production (go to 2:50).
  
• Physicists in the Quantum Systems and Devices group led by Dr Mark Bason have used magnetic imaging for assessing electric vehicle batteries, detailed in this published peer reviewed paper in the Journal of Power Sources. With this new technology, the researchers can visualise the inside workings of an electric vehicle battery.
• Colleagues from the EPic Lab had the opportunity to attend the SPIE Photonics Europe Innovation Village 2022 3 - 7 April, and present their project on developing a Virtual Optical Effect (VOE) application.
• Our Sussex Quantum physicists were delighted to welcome Mims Davies, Employment Minister, to campus in April. She learned about the pioneering research taking place in our labs, as well as the potential to create a new "quantum Silicon Valley" in her Mid Sussex constituency.
• Foni Lebrun-Gallagher and colleagues in the Ion Quantum Technology group publish their paper A Scalable Helium Gas Cooling System for Trapped-Ion Applications in IoP Science.
• Imagine being able to remotely monitor environmental factors in labs which can in turn be used to control systems in inaccessible and unpredicable envrionments such as space. The Quantum Systems and Devices group have achieved this, you can read more about it here and their published paper in IoP Science.
• Prof. Matthias Keller's ITCM group are collaborating with other national quantum centres on a project supported by UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund. The aim of QSNET is to create a network of innovative quantum sensors, including atomic and molecular clocks and optical cavities.
• Mark Webber, of the Ion Quantum Technology group and Universal Quantum, has led on a paper published in AVS Quantum Science. It describes how a quantum computer could break the encryption of Bitcoin. The paper can be read here The Impact of Hardware Specifications on Reaching Quantum Advantage in the Fault Tolerant Regime, and a press release here Sussex Scientists Reveal how Quantum Computing can Break Bitcoin and Help Tackle World Hunger.
• Prof. Peter Kruger explains how his Quantum Systems and Devices group are using quantum physics to see inside electrical vehicle batteries, in this Future Net Zero podcast on 12 January (go to 3:15).

2021 at a glance

• Prof. Alessia Pasquazi of EPic Lab introduces the recent achievement from J.Zhang and coworkers on Optomechanics Dissipative Solitons in Nature Physics journal.
• Congratulations to Prof. Marco Peccianti who leads our EPic Lab. He's been has been elected to the Optica Fellows Class 2022 “For sustained pioneering contributions to the field of optical complexity and the development of novel terahertz applications based on ultrafast nonlinear photonics”. Read the announcement here.
• Aikaterini Gialopsou, a doctoral researcher in our Quantum Systems and Devices group, has led on research using quantum sensors to demonstrate a new technique spotting bio-markers for detecting health problems in the brain. Read the recently published paper in Scientific Reports journal, and more about her research here.
  
• Vivek Kumar and Vittorio Cecconi of our EPic Lab not only presented at the IONS Ireland 2021 conference, but won a prize too! Their Sussex Optica Student Chapter were victorious in their submission to The Wonderful World of Optics competition with the submission Optical Phenomenon Iridescence.
• Prof. Winfried Hensinger joins IdeaXMe as their latest board advisor. IdeaXMe is a global podcast, creator series and mentor programme who aim to inspire future innovators and pioneers. 
• Another journal publication from the EPic Lab in Physical Review Research: Terahertz Emission Mediated by Ultrafast Time-varying Metasurfaces.
• Prof. Jacob Dunningham, Deputy Director of SCQT, can now add science advisor to Hollywood to his list of achievements! Jacob was thrilled to be approached by Paramount Pictures to advise on complex quantum equations which feature on the wall of the star, Mark Wahlberg, in the film Infinite. The film investigates parallel universes and you can read more about Jacob's experience here.
• As the University of Sussex celebrates it's 60th birthday, we're delighted that our own Prof. Winfried Hensinger has been identified as contributing to one of a handful of landmark, impactful research breakthroughs. His first quantum computer blueprint was published in 2017 to great media acclaim.
• The Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Kate Green MP, and Shadow Minister for Universities, Matt Western MP, take a break from the Labour Party Conference in Brighton to visit the University of Sussex. Among their meetings, they receive a tour of the Quantum Accelerator Building to find out more about the research of Prof. Peter Kruger's Quantum Systems and Devices group.
• A commercial battery imaging system born out of collaborative work between the Quantum Systems and Devices group and Brighton green energy start-up CD02 is unveiled at the low carbon vehicle technology event Cenex-LCV, 22-23 September. Read more about it's development and useage here.
• Prof. Alessia Pasquazi is a ‘Special Invited’ speaker at the European Optical Society Annual Meeting in Rome, 13-17 September.  Alessia presents her talk 'Microcombs based on laser configuration: laser cavity solitons in a nested cavity geometry'.
• Prof. Winfried Hensinger describes his personal journey across three continents and four countries to achieve his ultimate goal of developing a scalable quantum computer. He's interviewed for Careers in Quantum 2021 about The Future of Quantum Computing in Academia and Industry.
• Our EPic lab is leading the fight against counterfeit goods.Their Terahertz Ink (THink) uses a novel technology developed here at the University of Sussex in collaboration with the Materials Physics Group, and has a wide range of business applications across industries. Read more about these exciting developments in U2B Education for Careers.
• Another paper from the Ion Quantum Technology group. Christophe Valahu et al explain Robust Entanglement by Continuous Dynamical Decoupling of the J-Coupling Interaction.
• Colleagues in the Ion Quantum Technology group achieve a breakthrough four years after setting up their unique ion trapping system which is installed with two chips, one chip being moved precisely using piezo actuators. They trap a string of 14 ions and next plan to align the chips and shuttle individual ions between them, thus creating a link for transferring quantum information. The experiment demonstrates key aspects of a scalable architecture for building quantum computers using many connected ion trap chips.
• Dr Alessia Pasquazi features on Live and Virtual - a Journey through Quantum Technologies organised by Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution. She shows us the reality of quantum technologies that already underpin our personal everyday way of living, and explains the importance to us all of the coming of age pocket atomic clocks and quantum computers.
• Prof. Winfried Hensinger describes how a microchip-based quantum computer has been built incorporating an architecture in which calculations are carried out by shuttling atomic ions, with excellent performance and potential for scaling up: Quantum Computer Based on Shuttling Trapped Ions, Nature 592, 190-191.
• Three of our PhD students in the EPic Lab win prizes at the CLEO EU conference, more than any other institution! Congratulations Vittorio Cecconi, Robyn Tucker and Antonio Cutrona.
• Research in the EPic Lab, led by Prof. Marco Peccianti, has great significance for the evolution of ultra-fast communication devices. Read more in our article Sussex Scientists Develop Ultra-Thin Terahertz Source, Paving the way to Next Generation of Communication Technology.
• The University of Sussex She can STEM society feature Dr Alessia Pasquazi in the final Q&A in their video series 'YES, She Can', rounding off a week of promotional activity to support International Women's Day.
• Dr Tom Barrett and Dr Will Evans from our Quantum Systems and Devices group have their paper published  An Environmental Monitoring Network for Gas Experiments and Devices, on arXiv.org.
• Prof. Marco Peccianti has his article Grand Challenges in Photonics: Route to Light featured in Frontiers in Photonics. He also joins the Sussex Programme for Quantum Research Seminar Series with a talk 'Looking with Ultrafast Terahertz Eyes'.
• The year commenced with excellent news that Prof. Matthias Keller is part of a team who have received major funding from UK Research and Innovation. The project, part of the QSNet Consortium, will utilise the work of Prof. Kellers ITCM team on a high precision molecular ion clock, which has the potential to achieve better accuracies compared to the best atomic clock to-date. Overall, the projects aim to demonstrate how quantum technologies could solve some of the greatest mysteries in fundamental physics.