A central challenge of scaling quantum engineering is the need for robust materials that function across wide temperature ranges while reliably controlling quantum properties. Chicago Quantum Exchange researchers tackle this challenge by developing and running sophisticated models on supercomputers, quantum computer simulators, and even quantum computers. By modeling these materials and functions, they can increase their potential success in fabricating these materials. State-of-the-art facilities across member institutions enable atomic-scale materials fabrication through which these materials can be rapidly produced, prototyped, and characterized. Using this knowledge, scientists are engineering and optimizing devices from materials such as diamonds, silicon carbide, semiconductors, and others that allow them to distribute and process quantum information more efficiently.
Research Areas
Quantum Materials
Quantum materials researchers are at the forefront of engineering materials – including superconducting materials, topological insulators, and ultra-cold atoms – optimized for a broad range of functional uses. Theorists and experimentalists are working together to pioneer ways to adapt and optimize materials while overcoming their disadvantages. Quantum materials research links together a wide spectrum of areas, allowing theory, experiments, and fabrication to come together to both understand and employ these unique properties for scientific applications, such as aircraft development and scientific optical tools.