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  • Featured in Physics
  • Open Access

Scalable Photonic Quantum Interconnect Platform

Daniel Riedel1,*, Teodoro Graziosi2, Zhuoxian Wang3, Chawina De-Eknamkul1, Alex Abulnaga1, Jonathan Dietz1, Andrea Mucchietto1, Michael Haas1, Madison Sutula1 et al.

Pierre Barral1, Matteo Pompili1, Mouktik Raha3, Carsten Robens1, Jeonghoon Ha1, Denis Sukachev1, David Levonian1, Mihir Bhaskar1, Matthew Markham2, and Bartholomeus Machielse1,†

  • 1IonQ Inc., 4505 Campus Drive, College Park, Maryland 20740, USA
  • 2Element Six (UK) Limited, Global Innovation Centre, Fermi Avenue, Harwell, Didcot, OX11 0QR, United Kingdom
  • 3AWS Center for Quantum Computing, Pasadena, California 91106, USA

  • *Contact author: daniel.riedel@ionq.co
  • †Contact author: bart.machielse@ionq.co
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Phys. Rev. X 16, 011063 – Published 24 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/nfrg-zsts

Abstract

Many quantum networking applications require efficient photonic interfaces to quantum memories which can be produced at scale and with high yield. Synthetic diamond offers unique potential for the implementation of this technology as it hosts color centers which retain coherent optical interfaces and long spin coherence times in nanophotonic structures. Here, we report a technique enabling wafer-scale processing of thin-film diamond that combines ion implantation and membrane liftoff, high-quality overgrowth, targeted color center implantation, and serial, high-throughput thermocompression bonding with yields approaching unity. The deterministic deposition of thin diamond membranes onto semiconductor substrates facilitates consistent integration of photonic crystal cavities with silicon-vacancy (SiV) quantum memories. We demonstrate reliable, strong coupling of SiVs to photons with cooperativities approaching 50. Furthermore, we show that photonic crystal cavities can be reliably fabricated across several membranes bonded to the same handling chip. Our platform enables modular fabrication where the photonic layer can be integrated with functionalized substrates featuring electronic control lines such as coplanar waveguides for microwave delivery. Finally, we implement passive optical packaging with sub-decibel insertion loss. Together, these advances pave the way to the scalable assembly of optically addressable quantum memory arrays which are a key building block for modular photonic quantum interconnects.

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synopsis

Parallel Production of Quantum Memories

Published 24 March, 2026

A new approach manufactures many high-quality diamond-based quantum memory chips simultaneously on a single wafer.

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Popular Summary

Large-scale distribution of quantum entanglement requires similarly scalable hardware, yet leading materials such as synthetic diamond have historically been restricted to small-scale fabrication. We demonstrate a platform that enables foundry-style processing of diamond-based quantum technologies. By tiling quantum-grade diamond membranes onto functionalized wafers using a high-yield bonding process, we realize parallel fabrication of arrays of nanophotonic cavities featuring silicon-vacancy centers with spin-photon cooperativities approaching 100. Furthermore, this approach decouples the production of high-quality diamond from substrate functionalization, allowing reliable integration with microwave control lines and standard photonic packaging. These advances facilitate the scalable assembly of optically addressable quantum memory arrays, a key building block for modular quantum interconnects and distributed sensing systems transitioning. Together with enabling the implementation of fully packaged color-center-based quantum sensors, these advances transition diamond quantum technologies from specialized laboratory experiments to practical, at-scale industrial utility.

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Phys. Rev. X 16, 011063– Published 24 March, 2026
  • Received 8 October 2025
  • Accepted 6 February 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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