Pasqal has achieved a breakthrough: control of atom-based qubits has been transferred to a photonic chip for the first time.
French company Pasqal has presented a significant result in the field of quantum computing: for the first time, it has managed to trap and control neutral atoms using laser radiation that is generated and directed directly on a photonic integrated circuit. This event could become an important milestone on the path to creating fault-tolerant quantum systems at industrial scale.
The essence of the experiment: from external optics to integration
At the core of neutral-atom quantum computers is the use of focused laser beams—so-called optical tweezers—to trap and manipulate individual atoms that act as qubits. Traditionally, a significant portion of this optical system consists of bulky external components, which creates serious obstacles to scaling: as the number of atoms grows, such an architecture becomes increasingly complex and expensive.
Pasqal has proposed a radical solution: transferring key elements of the optical infrastructure onto photonic integrated circuits. During the experiment, one such chip successfully formed four independently controlled optical traps, in which four rubidium atoms were stably held. Critically, the performance of the chip-based system proved comparable to traditional optics: the lifetime of the trapped atoms was about 27.5 seconds—an impressive figure confirming the viability of the approach.
The path to thousands of qubits
Although four atoms are merely a demonstration of the principle rather than a full-fledged processor, it is precisely the optical infrastructure that is currently considered one of the main bottlenecks in scaling neutral-atom technology. Integrating photonics directly into the chip makes it possible to radically reduce system complexity and make its production more manufacturable.
The company expects this method to become the foundation for future systems capable of working with more than 10,000 atoms and 100 logical qubits. Notably, to develop the chip, Pasqal used technologies from its subsidiary Aeponyx, acquired in 2025. That deal was aimed specifically at accelerating the transition to fault-tolerant architectures.
It is worth recalling that earlier, Pasqal, in partnership with Saudi Aramco, launched the first quantum computer in Saudi Arabia.
My analysis: This step demonstrates the maturity of the neutral-atom approach—it is ceasing to be a laboratory curiosity and moving toward engineering solutions suitable for mass production. In the coming years, photonic integration will become the key factor determining which players can overcome the barrier of thousands of qubits and which will remain at the prototype level.