UMass Amherst Research Demonstrates New Technology for Shrinking Quantum Computers

Chip-scale laser and ion-trap components could significantly reduce the size of quantum computing hardware.

Mar. 30, 2026 at 2:19pm

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A highly structured abstract painting in soft, flat colors depicting sweeping geometric arcs, concentric circles, and precise spirals, conceptually representing the integration of advanced laser and ion trap technologies to shrink the size of quantum computing hardware.Innovative chip-scale laser and ion-trap components could enable the next generation of compact, scalable quantum computing systems.Santa Barbara Today

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of California Santa Barbara have demonstrated key laser and ion-trap components that could help drastically shrink the size of quantum computers. The study shows that large, complex optical systems used to control trapped-ion qubits can be replaced with integrated photonic chips while maintaining high-fidelity operations, marking an early step toward scalable and portable quantum systems.

Why it matters

Current quantum computing technology is too large and complex to scale and too sensitive and bulky to be portable. This new chip-scale approach could pave the way for functional large-scale quantum computers capable of solving problems too complex for today's supercomputers, as well as more compact and robust optical clocks that could enable new tests of fundamental physics.

The details

The researchers demonstrated that the large precision lasers used in conventional quantum computing systems can be replaced with small photonic chips. This new photonic technology can be used to control trapped ions and perform qubit and clock operations. The team tested how their design performs key quantum operations, including preparing a qubit's quantum state, and found that it already achieves the high-fidelity qubit state preparation and measurement required for quantum computing, with further improvements enabling applications in quantum sensing.

  • The research was published on March 30, 2026.

The players

Robert Niffenegger

An assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who led the research.

Daniel Blumenthal

A professor at the University of California Santa Barbara who collaborated on the research.

University of Massachusetts Amherst

The university where the lead researcher, Robert Niffenegger, is based and where the research was conducted.

University of California Santa Barbara

The university that collaborated with UMass Amherst on the research.

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What they’re saying

“If you want scalability or portability with quantum technology, you need the laser systems to all be on chip too. We could have millions of qubits on one chip in a way that is not possible if you needed rooms full of lasers and optics. If you're serious about getting to that scale, you have to look at how traditional computers have scaled through integration. That's the vision we're following.”

— Robert Niffenegger, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst

“We haven't matched state-of-the-art clock performance yet, but we really went pretty far in the very first go and have made even more progress since.”

— Robert Niffenegger, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst

“To build something truly useful, something beyond what a traditional supercomputer can do, you're going to need an integrated quantum system on a chip. You can't have football fields full of lasers and optics. It's just not going to work. Integration is the only viable path.”

— Robert Niffenegger, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst

What’s next

The next goal for the researchers is to fully integrate the ion trap chip, laser chip, optical cavity chip, and other photonics components onto a single chip, creating a unified quantum system-on-a-chip.

The takeaway

This research represents a critical first step toward the scalability and portability of quantum computing and optical clocks, paving the way for functional large-scale quantum computers and compact, robust optical clocks that could enable new tests of fundamental physics.