Controlling a superconducting qubit with light

Superconducting quantum processors have made significant progress in size and computing potential. As a result, the practical cryogenic limitations of operating large numbers of superconducting qubits are becoming a bottleneck for further scaling. Due to the low thermal conductivity and the dense optical multiplexing capacity of telecommunications fiber, converting qubit signal processing to the optical domain could significantly relax the strain on cryogenic space and thermal budgets. Here, we will discuss progress on creating control signals and performing state readout of qubits using optical signals and look at their potential applications for scaling quantum processors.