New beam-steering chip smaller than a grain of salt could cut hardware demands in quantum computing and high-performance data centers
- Tiny optical chip steers millions of laser points from microscopic cantilever array
- MITRE-led research shows new path to scaling quantum computing laser control
- Microscopic beam steering technology could reduce complexity in large optical systems
Quantum computing designs built around laser-controlled qubits run into trouble as systems grow larger. Many approaches rely on separate lasers to control individual qubits, which becomes difficult once systems scale into the millions often cited as necessary for practical use.
Scientists working on the MITRE Quantum Moonshot project have created a microscopic optical chip capable of steering tens of millions of beams of light every second, tackling that challenge.
Instead of relying on one laser per task, the approach allows a smaller number of beams to be redirected rapidly across many targets.
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MITRE Quantum Moonshot
The MITRE Quantum Moonshot project brings together researchers from MITRE, MIT, the University of Colorado Boulder, and Sandia National Laboratories. Their shared goal is to build scalable quantum systems that combine light-based control with solid-state materials to manage large numbers of quantum bits.
According to IEEE Spectrum, the microscopic optical chip can project 68.6 million scannable points of light every second. That’s more than 50 times greater than earlier micromirror-based beam scanners, helping address one of the biggest practical barriers to scaling quantum hardware.
The device measures about 1 square millimeter, roughly the size of a grain of salt, and contains an array of microscopic cantilevers that act like tiny ramps for light. Electrical voltage moves each cantilever slightly, guiding beams across a two-dimensional surface with precise control.
Light travels through narrow pathways called waveguides and exits at the tip of each cantilever. A thin layer of aluminum nitride inside the structure expands or contracts under voltage, allowing the tiny mechanical parts to move and scan beams across the target area.
“We have now made a scannable pixel that is at the absolute limit of what diffraction allows,” says Henry Wen, a visiting researcher at MIT and photonics engineer at QuEra Computing.
IEEE Spectrum reports that the team demonstrated the chip’s capabilities by projecting detailed images at microscopic scale. One demonstration reproduced the Mona Lisa (see below) inside an area smaller than two human egg cells.
Synchronizing motion across thousands of tiny structures turned out to be harder than building the hardware itself.
Researchers had to carefully align the timing of mechanical movement and light output so that colors and patterns appeared in the correct sequence.
Beyond quantum computing, the same scanning approach could speed up laser-based manufacturing processes such as 3D printing. The technology could also extend into imaging and high-performance computing.
“I think now you can take a process that would have taken hours and maybe bring it down to minutes,” says Wen.
Researchers are also exploring new cantilever shapes that curl into spirals rather than simple arcs. These variations could support lab-on-a-chip systems used in biology, where scanning light across cells helps trigger or measure chemical responses.
The same underlying ability to direct many beams from a single compact device is what makes the technology relevant beyond laboratory settings.
Although the technology remains experimental, its ability to direct large numbers of beams from a tiny surface points to possible cost savings in large computing systems.
Systems that currently require large numbers of lasers and supporting hardware could be simplified, reducing equipment, power demands, and long-term operating costs.
If future computing systems rely more heavily on optical technologies, reducing the number of required light sources could lower infrastructure costs.
At the scale of modern data centers, even modest reductions in hardware and energy use could translate into very big financial savings.
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