Programming Light: A Major Step Forward Towards Quantum Technologies

The Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh is at the heart of a significant scientific breakthrough. Researchers at this institution have developed a new method for creating optical circuits. These components are crucial for the development of future technologies, including impregnable communication networks and ultra-fast quantum computers.


Understanding the importance of this discovery requires grasping the central role of optical circuits in modern computing. Unlike traditional circuits that use electricity, optical circuits rely on light to transmit and process information. This approach is considered a crucial evolution in the field of computing technologies.

However, the increasing complexity of these optical circuits presents challenges in terms of manufacturing and control, thus impacting their efficiency. This is where the research of Professor Mehul Malik and his team comes into play. They have explored a new way to design these circuits, by exploiting a natural phenomenon of light dispersion within optical fibers. These fibers, thinner than a hair, are commonly used worldwide to route the Internet into our homes and workplaces.

By mastering how light disperses inside these fibers, researchers have succeeded in precisely programming optical circuits. This discovery, published in the journal Nature Physics, paves the way for considerable applications in the field of quantum technologies.


Optical circuits play a crucial role in the development of these technologies, operating at the scale of atoms and photons (particles of light). Among the future applications envisioned are quantum computers, offering phenomenal processing power, and quantum communication networks, known for their inviolability.

One of the major contributions of this research is the manipulation of quantum entanglement, a phenomenon where quantum particles like photons remain interconnected, even across great distances. This phenomenon is essential in many quantum applications, such as error correction in quantum computers and the most secure communication encryptions.

This research was conducted in collaboration with prestigious academic institutions such as Lund University in Sweden, Sapienza University of Rome in Italy, and the University of Twente in the Netherlands.