NEWS
Nonlinear Photonic Architecture for Fault-tolerant Quantum Computing
At ORCA, we believe in making quantum computing commercially useful – and we are making that a reality today. With a proven track record of engineering and delivering complex quantum hardware, we’re uniquely positioned to develop the technologies that will make scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computers a practical reality.
We chose photons as our qubits for their unmatched flexibility and modularity. They are fast, immune to noise, and require minimal cryogenics enabling hardware that integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructure.
But photons come with a catch: they don’t naturally interact, leading to enormous footprints for fault-tolerant systems. At ORCA, we’ve developed a game-changing technology to solve this- opening new possibilities for quantum computing.
Our latest research paper entitled “Nonlinear photonic architecture for fault-tolerant quantum computing” presents ORCA’s nonlinear architecture and demonstrates how this approach redefines what’s possible in quantum computing.
Optical Nonlinearities – Unlocking Photon Interaction
At ORCA, we are creating a device called an optical nonlinearity that lets photons interact on-demand using strong light-matter interactions that are fast, scalable, and operate at room temperature.
Normally, photons are like shy party guests: they move quickly and quietly, keeping to themselves. That’s great for low noise and fast operations, but it prevents the collaboration needed for scalable fault-tolerant quantum computing. Our optical nonlinearities change the rules of the party. Photons can now interact reliably, combining the speed and flexibility of photonics – such as low circuit depth, modularity, and flexibility – with the deterministic gate operations of circuit-based approaches.
ORCA’s advantage
ORCA’s hands-on engineering experience and breakthroughs in nonlinear photonics provide the foundation for a scalable path to fault-tolerant quantum computing. In our newest paper, we introduce a universal, photonic architecture built on optical nonlinearities. These nonlinearities enable deterministic photon sources and entangling operations – the core ingredients for any large-scale quantum computer – positioning ORCA as the leader in the field:
- World-leading photon loss resilience: Our architecture focuses directly on mitigating photon loss – the primary error in photonic systems – instead of managing the probabilistic operations typical of linear-optical approaches.
Fig. 1 Blue line represents the loss threshold of nonlinear architecture - Compact and scalable hardware: Deterministic operations massively reduce resource overheads normally associated with standard optical architectures, removing the requirement for massive cryogenic infrastructure or warehouse-scale setups.
Fig 2 Conceptual view of ORCA’s PT-Series architecture for a fault-tolerant system. - Deterministic networking: The same deterministic operations we are developing today let us reliably connect logical qubits, enabling scalable, high-performance quantum networks – no new hardware or exotic infrastructure required, unlike in matter-based qubit platforms.
- Minimal cryogenic needs: Most components – PICs, switch networks, electronics, nonlinearities, and delay lines – operate at room temperature; only a modest number of detectors require cooling.
- Time-domain scaling: The number of photonic qubits can be increased using optical-fiber delays, allowing each photon source to be reused multiple times – unlike matter-based systems, where scaling requires adding more physical qubits.
- Accelerated timeline to fault tolerance: Reduced size, overhead, and enhanced loss tolerance shorten the path to practical, scalable quantum computing.
Photonic quantum computing has always promised speed, flexibility, and scalability – but making that promise real requires a way for photons to interact efficiently. With ORCA’s nonlinear architecture, we’ve done just that. The photonic systems we’re building and deploying today demonstrate that quantum computing is already commercially useful. Deterministic photons and entangling operations give us a clear path to scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computers. We are developing a platform designed for real-world impact, harnessing the unique advantages of photons while overcoming the limitations that have held the field back. The future of quantum computing isn’t decades away; at ORCA, we’re building it now.
