The researchers show the pathway to quantum computers with more than 100,000 qubits by scaling beyond the thousand-atom mark.

A Columbia team combines optical tweezer arrays with metasurfaces to massively scale neutral-atom trapping, demonstrating 1,000 trapped strontium atoms with clear potential to reach well over 100,000 qubits.

Led by Sebastian Will and Nanfang Yu, the team presents a scalable neutral-atom quantum array approach powered by metasurface-enhanced optical tweezers in a Nature paper.

This work outlines a path toward quantum computers with over 100,000 qubits using neutral-atom arrays controlled via metasurfaces.

Metasurfaces offer higher pixel density—less than 200 nanometers—and can withstand very high optical intensities, enabling greater scalability and reducing the bulk of traditional equipment.

The work was published in Nature as part of Columbia University’s ongoing quantum research efforts.

Beyond computing, neutral-atom platforms could power quantum simulators and precision optical clocks that operate outside laboratory settings.

In addition to quantum computing, the approach holds promise for advancing quantum simulators and ultra-precise optical clocks.

Demonstrations include 2D patterns such as a 1024-site square lattice, as well as quasicrystal and Statue of Liberty patterns, and a 600-by-600 array (360,000 tweezers) on a 3.5 mm metasurface.

The team showcased diverse 2D trap patterns and an exceptionally large 3.5 mm metasurface that hosts hundreds of thousands of tweezers.

Neutral atoms remain appealing qubits because they are identical and readily engineered for superposition and entanglement, offering a potentially simpler path to scalability than solid-state qubits.

A key hurdle to 100,000 atoms is the need for a more powerful laser, which researchers deem feasible within a realistic development timeline.