Insider Brief
- The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has secured Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT) funding to advance trapped-ion quantum computing technology, with a focus on manufacturing scalability.
- The project will develop a batch packaging process for ion-trap devices to address production yield and manufacturing bottlenecks that limit large-scale production.
- The work aims to support reliable manufacturing of ion traps for networked quantum computing architectures, building on NPL technology already used at NPL, the University of Oxford and the National Quantum Computing Centre.
PRESS RELEASE — The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has secured funding through the Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT) to accelerate the development of next-generation trapped-ion quantum computing technologies, helping address one of the sector’s most significant barriers to commercial adoption: scalability.
Quantum computing has the potential to transform industries by solving complex problems that are beyond the reach of today’s most powerful classical computers. Rather than relying on conventional binary transistors, quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, which exploit the principles of quantum mechanics to perform calculations at unprecedented speeds.
Trapped-ion systems have emerged as a leading platform, among competing quantum computing technologies being developed worldwide, due to their exceptional fidelity, stability and scalability. NPL plays an important role this field, having developed a microfabricated, chip-scale ion microtrap capable of confining and manipulating arrays of ions. The technology provides a highly scalable architecture that is ideally suited for quantum computing and quantum networking applications.
NPL’s ion microtrap devices are already supporting cutting-edge research activities at both NPL and the University of Oxford. Building on this success, a previous GOTT Knowledge Asset Grant Fund (KAGF) project enabled the installation of an NPL microtrap system at the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), marking the first demonstration of trapped-ion technology within NQCC laboratories.
The newly funded project will focus on overcoming manufacturing challenges that currently limit the large-scale production of ion trap devices. Specifically, the funding will support the implementation of a batch packaging process designed to address key scalability and production yield bottlenecks during the final stages of fabrication.
The project will support the integration of ion traps into networked trapped-ion quantum computing architectures by improving manufacturing efficiency and enabling reliable production at scale. This represents an important step towards overcoming the limitations of single-node quantum computers and unlocking the larger, interconnected quantum systems needed for future real-world applications.
Through this project, NPL aims to bridge the gap between laboratory-based research and deployable quantum computing systems, creating new opportunities for collaboration with industry, academia and the wider UK quantum ecosystem.
Cyrus Larijani, Programme Director for NPL Quantum:“The UK’s strength in quantum technology has been built on sustained investment in research, innovation and collaboration. The next challenge is ensuring that breakthrough technologies can be manufactured and deployed at scale. This project will help develop the ion-traps capabilities needed to support a resilient UK quantum supply chain and bring transformative quantum technologies closer to market with impactful applications in quantum computing and networking. Support from GOTT is helping to ensure that innovations developed in the UK can deliver economic growth, and maintain the UK’s leadership in one of the world’s most strategically important technology sectors.”
The project forms part of GOTT’s mission to unlock the value of public sector knowledge assets, supporting the translation of innovative technologies into real-world economic and societal impact.