EU funds research into imaging technology and chips for quantum computers

TUM researchers secure two ERC Synergy Grants

The SmartX project is researching more detailed imaging procedures in order to diagnose lung diseases better and earlier. The focus is on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Conventional X-rays and CT scans are often inadequate for the early detection of COPD and are associated with high radiation doses. The aim is to develop a new type of detector for the dark-field X-ray procedure that requires 50 percent less radiation dose compared to the already low-radiation procedure. An X-ray detector is the counterpart to the radiation source and produces the X-ray image. While conventional X-rays are based on the attenuation of the X-ray light, the dark-field X-ray developed at TUM uses the so-called small-angle scattering of the X-ray light. This allows additional information to be obtained about the nature of the microstructure of the lung tissue.

SmartX is led by Franz Pfeiffer, Professor of Biomedical Physics and Director of the Munich Institute of Biomedical Engineering at TUM, together with José M. Benlloch Baviera, Professor at the CSIC in Valencia, Edoardo Charbon, Professor at the EPF de Lausanne, and Daniela Pfeiffer, Professor of Radiology at TUM.

Typically, computer chips are made from silicon and operate using electrons, but photons - or particles of light - could transmit data far faster and with significantly less energy-consumption. Prof. Jonathan Finley’s innovative approach focuses on developing chips from hexagonal silicon-germanium (SiGe), a material whose unique atomic arrangement enables it to emit light. This could provide a seamless integration of photonic and electronic functions on a single chip, paving the way for both faster, more efficient traditional computers and transformative advancements in quantum computing. For instance, millions of quantum memory units, or "qubits," could be linked through photons. SiGe-based lasers would also allow for ultra-fast optical data transmission, and quantum communications could achieve unprecedented levels of encryption security.

The project “Bright Chips” is a collaboration with Prof. Erik Bakkers (TU Eindhoven) and Prof. Floris Zwanenburg (Uni Twente). Jonathan Finley has held the Chair of Semiconductor Nanostructures and Quantum Systems at TUM since 2013.