LLNL Expertise Boosts Quantum Computing Collaboration

Lawrence Livermore National Lab scientists contribute materials and cavity design knowledge to DOE-funded quantum research center.

Published on Feb. 20, 2026

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The Department of Energy Office of Science has renewed funding for the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center (SQMS), hosted by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, with $125 million over the next five years. LLNL is one of the 43 partner institutions in this collaboration, bringing expertise in materials and microwave cavity design to advance quantum computing, communication, and sensing technologies.

Why it matters

Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize fields like cryptography, materials science, and drug discovery. LLNL's contributions to the SQMS center, which focuses on developing cavity-based quantum computing platforms, could help accelerate breakthroughs in this critical emerging technology.

The details

LLNL scientists Keith Ray and Gianpaolo Carosi are studying niobium and tantalum materials used to create the 3D cavities and 2D resonators for superconducting qubits. Their work on characterizing material interfaces and reducing energy dissipation can help improve the performance of the quantum computing platforms being developed by SQMS. LLNL's experience with similar cavity designs for the Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX) also provides insights that benefit the SQMS collaboration.

  • In November 2026, the Department of Energy Office of Science renewed the SQMS funding for the next five years.
  • LLNL has been contributing its materials and cavity design expertise to the SQMS collaboration since the center was established.

The players

Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center (SQMS)

A DOE-funded research center hosted by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, focused on advancing quantum computing, communication, and sensing technologies.

Keith Ray

An LLNL scientist studying niobium and tantalum materials used in superconducting qubits.

Gianpaolo Carosi

An LLNL scientist contributing to the cavity design for the SQMS quantum computing platforms.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)

A U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that conducts research in areas such as national security, energy, and the environment.

Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX)

An experiment at LLNL that uses similar 3D cavities to search for axions, a candidate particle for dark matter.

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What they’re saying

“Regardless of the institution you're at or the qubit design you're working on, you want more information about the materials that you're employing. It's great to see a bunch of experimental and theoretical work coming out of SQMS that's focused on materials for quantum computers. The more data I have on these materials, the more refined my models can be, and the more informative and relevant they can be.”

— Keith Ray, LLNL Scientist

“We've developed methods to look at these interfaces and what causes loss in superconducting qubits. A lot of effort has been undertaken on other projects here at Livermore to develop those methods, and we can now apply them to interfaces and materials that are useful for SQMS and potentially leverage our work to do very targeted things for the collaboration.”

— Keith Ray, LLNL Scientist

“My role with SQMS is to help with the cavity design. So far, one of their cavities was able to get a photon to exist in that cavity for on the order of a few seconds. It's kind of crazy, a little trapped photon bouncing around for actual seconds.”

— Gianpaolo Carosi, LLNL Scientist

What’s next

The SQMS collaboration plans to continue advancing the materials science and cavity design for its quantum computing platforms, with the goal of achieving longer photon lifetimes and lower error rates in the coming years.

The takeaway

LLNL's expertise in materials characterization and microwave cavity design is proving invaluable to the SQMS center's efforts to develop practical quantum computing, communication, and sensing technologies. This collaboration highlights how national laboratories can leverage their specialized capabilities to accelerate progress in critical emerging fields.