QphoX and Rigetti Computing, Inc. have been awarded a three-year, $5.8 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The contract is intended to advance superconducting quantum networking by delivering systems that provide entanglement between superconducting qubits and optical photons.
The project addresses a challenge in networking superconducting quantum computers, which requires converting the microwave signals that control qubits into optical photons that can travel along optical fibers. The team plans to combine superconducting microwave qubits developed by Rigetti with single-photon microwave-optical transducers from QphoX. The system is designed to transfer excitations from the qubit chip resonators to the transducers, converting individual microwave photons to optical photons while preserving their quantum character.
This contract, which builds on a previous demonstration between the two companies, supports AFRL’s efforts to develop heterogeneous quantum interconnects for integrating matter-based quantum technologies into its telecom-based quantum local area networks (QLANs). Matt LaHaye, a principal research physicist with AFRL, noted that these interconnects will be a step in investigations of entanglement distribution for fundamental research and capabilities for Air Force and DoD operations. Dr. Subodh Kulkarni, CEO of Rigetti, commented that the contract is an opportunity to advance superconducting quantum networking.
Read the full announcement here.
September 18, 2025
Leave A Comment