Authors:

Solomon R Jackson

Date Created:

Not specified

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About Paper:

Quantum computing has the potential to transform technology, but one of the biggest challenges it faces is the sensitivity of quantum bits, or qubits, to external interference. Radiation from the environment, like muons and neutrons, can pass through the materials that hold qubits and cause errors. These particles might not even hit the qubit directly, but they can still deposit energy that travels through the material and disrupts quantum information. My project focuses on simulating these types of radiation events using a tool called G4CMP, which is an extension of the Geant4 physics engine. It enables me to model how particles move through cryogenic materials, such as silicon and germanium, and how they generate phonons, which are vibrations that propagate through the material and can impact nearby qubits. So far, I have set up test cases to simulate muons hitting a germanium substrate and observed how that energy spreads out from the point of impact. Even at this early stage, the results indicate that radiation can have an effect far from its point of entry into the system, which is a significant concern for scaling up quantum devices. As the project progresses, I'll examine other types of radiation and expand the tests to various materials. The goal is to better understand how these effects occur, so that future hardware designs can be more resistant to them. This type of modeling could play a crucial role in making quantum systems more reliable. Keywords: Quantum Computing; Radiation Effects; G4CMP; Phonon Propagation; Qubit Decoherence

Source:

Purdue University / 2025

Topics:

No topics listed

Co-authors:

Solomon R Jackson