Developing an ion trap quantum processor

Large-scale quantum computers may require in excess of millions of individual quantum bits.
This would require aligning millions of laser beams with micron accuracy. At Sussex we have
developed an alternative approach where quantum gates are executed by the application of
voltages on an ion trap quantum computing microchip replacing laser beams required for
quantum gate implementation. We have already developed the capability to carry out two-qubit
quantum gates with fidelities close to the fault-tolerant threshold and single qubit gates well
below the fault-tolerant threshold. In parallel we are developing shuttling capabilities in order to
reliably transport ions on an ion microchip. Combing shuttling with the realisation of quantum
gates allows for the realisation of quantum algorithms with a few trapped ions.