IonQ (IONQ) said this week that it has made a “significant technological advancement” that could accelerate the progress toward building a quantum internet.
With support provided by the AIr Force Research Lab (AFRL), the company noted that it had “successfully demonstrated the frequency conversion of photons from visible wavelengths used to interface with trapped barium ions, into telecom wavelengths on a prototype system.”
What this means for the layman is that this advancement is not only a way to interconnect quantum computers across “vast distances,” but it could do so using current fiber optic infrastructures.
IonQ said this process is made possible because its trapped ion quantum systems are able to transform visible light into telecom wavelengths.
The company added that the breakthrough was “a major advancement in IonQ's long-term vision for the Quantum Internet – distributed quantum computing via secure quantum networks.”
“Working closely with AFRL, we are the first quantum company to demonstrate the ability to convert visible signals to telecom wavelengths,” Niccolo de Masi, chairman and CEO of IonQ, said in a statement. “We will soon connect two quantum computers over standard wavelengths, opening the floodgates for broadly networked quantum devices using commercial fiber infrastructure.”
According to IonQ, this latest development can lead to future commercial opportunities in distributed quantum computing and quantum communication, calling it “directly relevant to the future infrastructure needs of telecom companies and network providers.”
IonQ announced in March that it had delivered and commissioned a quantum networking system optimized for research and development to the AFRL’s facility in New York.
In a statement at the time, de Masi said the development of the networking system was the “culmination of a collaborative partnership between AFRL and IonQ to deliver enterprise-grade quantum capabilities today, not 10 years from now.”
IonQ has been ramping up its partnerships with the U.S. government, signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) last week to accelerate the advancement and deployment of quantum technologies in space.
IonQ will be demonstrating quantum ground-to-orbit-to-ground capabilities as part of the DOE’s Quantum in Space (QIS) initiative, which is the agency’s program aimed at studying and developing quantum systems and technologies.
Benchmark analysts, led by David Williams, raised its price target for IONQ shares last week to $75 from $55, while maintaining a Buy rating.
“With the healthiest balance sheet in the industry and a strong appetite for acquisitions, we anticipate the company will continue to pursue strategic assets to strengthen their lead in quantum computing and networking, developing a complete quantum ecosystem,” Williams wrote.
This “strong appetite for acquisitions” has played out this month as IonQ recently announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Vector Atomic, a manufacturer of quantum sensors for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) applications – and also completed a previously announced acquisition of Oxford Ionics, a quantum computing company based in the UK.
IonQ’s stock has surged 76.8% for the year.
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