From Quantum Labs to Quantum Computing

With a conceptual shift, quantum labs become an introduction to quantum computing. A single photon is the implementation of a qubit, which carries information such as polarization or path as a superposition of states. In this talk I will describe the instructional elements, highlighting quantum labs, that we have used to introduce STEM majors to quantum computing. We use the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm, which involves a black-box "oracle" to find the output of an unknown function, as a simple model of quantum computing. While classically this can only be determined with a very large number of executions of the function, the algorithm utilizes superposition and interference to make this determination with only one measurement. Its implementation involves a small modification to a single-photon interference experiment where half-wave plates in the arms of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer serve as the "oracle." When our students come to this material without prior knowledge of quantum mechanics, the emphasis needs to be instead on the essential elements of quantum computing, such as quantum phenomena including superposition and entanglement, mathematical skills, quantum gates, and optics. The student learning outcomes of our instruction are to develop skills used in quantum professions while building hands-on optics experience. In addition to describing the components of instruction I will share qualitative student outcomes of two five-week summer sessions.