We have been hearing about qubits for a long time now. We have mainly seen their mathematical representation. The next step is to think further and try to investigate how these qubits can be built in real-life laboratories. Florian will show us the different kinds of qubits that exist nowadays and their different advantages.

• Photons play a very important role in Quantum Key Distribution, since they are able to build photonic quantum computers and connect and communicate between them.
• Trapped ions basically are electrically charged particles trapped in an alternating electric field. Nowadays, the traps are able to store many ions and therefore this is a promising candidate for larger systems.
• Superconducting qubits, in particular transmon qubits, are anharmonic oscillators. So far, this technology has scaled very well, with processors with over 50 qubits being demonstrated.
• NV centers couple well to light, making them a prime candidate for local nodes for quantum communication using photons to transmit the quantum information.
• Quantum dots create an island on which electrons can be isolated. Semiconductors quantum dots are quantum dots that use semiconductors materials. Those under very strict conditions can be used as qubits.