Podcast | Combining Atoms and Photons in a New Type of QPU – with Professor Barak Dayan of Quantum Source

Most quantum computing modalities face difficult hurdles with connectivity and scaling. Trapped atoms are great at interacting to run quantum calculations, but connecting millions of them together can be an engineering challenge. Photons are fantastic for fast communication and can link systems through standard fiber-optic cables, but because they pass right through one another without touching, getting them to interact and perform quantum gates usually requires massive, complex workarounds. In this episode, Professor Barak Dayan, Chief Scientist and Co-Founder of Quantum Source, joins host Konstantinos Karagiannis to explain how combining the two creates a completely new kind of quantum computer: a hybrid atom-photon machine that captures the best of both.

Quantum Source traps single rubidium atoms inside tiny glass vacuum cavities to act as direct go-betweens, cleanly entangling passing photons on demand without requiring massive cryogenic setups or impossibly identical light pulses. Prof. Dayan, who literally holds up the hardware resonator during the conversation (if you watch on YouTube), explains how this approach acts like an ultra-fast quantum sewing machine, weaving qubits together in nanoseconds to enable modular, rack-based scaling. Discover how this unique hardware design tackles error correction, unlocks flexible long-range connectivity, and targets a fully fault-tolerant logical qubit by 2029.

For more on Quantum Source, visit https://www.qs-labs.com/.

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