- Open Access
Optomechanical Resource for Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing
PRX Quantum 7, 010316 – Published 23 January, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/4k7h-4vwc
Abstract
Fusion-based quantum computing with dual-rail qubits is a leading candidate for scalable quantum computing using linear optics. This paradigm requires single photons which are entangled into small resource states before being fed into a fusion network. The most common sources for single optical photons and for small entangled states are probabilistic and heralded. The realization of a single reliable deterministic source requires many redundant probabilistic sources and a complex optical network for rerouting and retiming probabilistic outputs. In this work, we show how optomechanics enables reliable production of resources for photonic quantum computing without the redundancy of the all-optical approach. This is achieved by using acoustic modes as caches of quantum resources, ranging from single-particle states to small entangled states, with on-demand readout. The advantages of acoustic modes as optical quantum memories, compared to other technologies, include their intrinsically long lifetimes and that they are solid state, highly tailorable, and insensitive to electromagnetic noise. We show how the resource states can be prepared directly in the acoustic modes using optical controls. This is still probabilistic and heralded, as in the all-optical approach, but the acoustic modes act as a quantum memory which is integrated into the production of the states. The quantum states may be deterministically transferred from acoustic modes to optical modes, on demand, with another optical drive.
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Popular Summary
Quantum computing will be able to solve many problems which are challenging for normal, aka classical, computers. Unfortunately, useful quantum computers have been difficult to realize in practice because quantum information tends to be easily disrupted by environmental noise, such as the random motion of atoms and electrons whenever they are hotter than absolute zero. By redundantly encoding quantum information, we hope to achieve fault tolerance—the ability to perform quantum computation even if a few errors occur along the way. However, the necessary redundancy greatly increases the resources required.
In this work, we show how optomechanics—the interaction between light and sound—can be harnessed for fault-tolerant quantum computing by balancing the strengths of photons and phonons. Phonons (particles of sound/vibration) are long-lived and easy to keep in one place. Photons (particles of light) are easy to transmit from one place to another and to detect. We propose to probabilistically prepare quantum resource states using phonons and convert them into photons on demand. As an example, here is how we prepare single photons: in an optomechanical resonator, a photon can lose energy by emitting a phonon. If we detect one such lower-energy photon, we can say that a single phonon has been generated. This process is reversed to convert the single phonon into a single photon. We show that our scheme can efficiently prepare single photons and other quantum states of light with high fidelity, providing a potential route to useful quantum computers.
Article Text
Supplemental Material
References (104)
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