Quantum computing promises to change our world in fast, powerful and transformative ways: solving in seconds problems that would take years of old computers, accelerating the discovery of new medicines, creating durable materials, improving complex systems, and strengthening network security. It does so by using qubitsquantum computes of classical bits, which can span multiple states simultaneously and enable a new type of computing.
For example, imagine that 1,000 trucks need to reach 10,000 different locations, each location, in different parts of the country. A classical computer model can examine each of the 10 million paths individually to evaluate their effectiveness, but a quantum model will be able to evaluate those millions of different paths at once.
At the same time, quantum sensing opens up new frontiers on a precise scale, enabling technologies such as medical imaging and navigation systems that can detect small changes in gravity or gravity, capabilities that can allow doctors to detect diseases early or help cars navigate without GPS. UCF researchers believe that the science of light, photonics, may hold the key to unlocking the true potential of quantum computing.
Professor Andrea Blanco-Redondo says: “In order to develop truly useful quantum computers, we need complex, perturbed light conditions that are strong to the point of failure.
Blanco-Redondo is a Florida Photonics Center of Excellence endowed Professor of Optics and Photonics CREOL, College of Optics and Photonics. He leads the Quantum Silicon Photonics (QSP) research group, which aims to better understand the classical and quantum fundamentals of light – knowledge that will be essential to advancing the field of quantum computing.
The group’s study on “High-dimensional Topological Photonic Entanglement” has been published in Sciencewith Blanco-Redondo along with CREOL doctoral student Javad Zakery and former research scientist Armando Perez-Leija (now at Saint Louis University) as principal investigators.
“Tradition has been shown to have advantages for quantum computing and quantum sensing,” says Blanco-Redondo. “It’s important to be able to produce these multiple light conditions in a powerful and lightweight way to facilitate that process.”
Topological transformation
Topological methods are the specific ways that light propagates within a structure. They are not vulnerable because their presence is protected by an administrative (global rather than local) property of the system. Another example is superlattices, which are known to exhibit these patterns.
Blanco-Redondo sums up this success: “We found a way to catch the protected patterns of the highest climate.”
Any photon can be in a complex state of many states at the same time. When two such photons are entangled, Blanco-Redondo explains, measuring one of them will determine which one is the other.
“There’s a lot of correlation between them,” he says. “They share the same level, so measuring one immediately tells you what you’re going to get when you measure the other.”
Capturing multiple topological positions was a fundamental limitation – or so the scientists thought.
“We had shown an important role, but we didn’t know how to scale it up,” says Blanco-Redondo. “What we’ve shown with this new method is a dangerous way to produce more disturbed states, to preserve the climate protection of those disturbed states.”
That means that entangled states will not be stronger than imperfections, but they will have a greater ability to contain quantum information, both important qualities for the stability of a quantum system and will therefore enable applications of quantum information.
Surfing Waveguides
Again complex it doesn’t mean “problems” anymore. The Blanco-Redondo team managed to expand by rearranging the furniture in the room where the lamp sits, so to speak. The “furniture” in this case is silicon photonic waveguide arrays.
“We can do it in a way that doesn’t increase the complexity of the system,” says Blanco-Redondo, “and find a way to remove the waves in a configuration that supports multiple protected systems in one place instead of just one.”
The end result, according to Blanco-Redondo is a greater ability to encode quantum information in a consistent manner.
Cooperation CREOL
This is the second time the QSP team has been featured in a major research journal in the past year, following their most recent feature. Natural Things in 2025. Their discoveries showed the use of the platform to precisely control the degradation, or loss of light conditions, which leads to strong topological properties.
This comes at a time when the Florida Alliance for Quantum Technology (FAQT), of which CREOL is a part, is accelerating its efforts to grow the industry with the goal of making Florida a leading center for quantum technology. FAQT took center stage during the 2026 CREOL Industrial Affiliates Symposium, which brought together leaders across academia, industry and government.
“It’s a great motivator,” Blanco-Redondo says Science The announcement, adding that the possible exposure to the wider community can bring a strong boost to their cause, especially as the CREOL sector continues to grow. Blanco-Redondo also leads CREOL’s Quantum Leap Initiative, which focuses on building shared infrastructure and enabling a collaborative environment to maintain CREOL’s pioneering position in quantum optical science and applications. He also leads the UCF Quantum Initiative.
Blanco-Redondo says: “We are at a time when we are joining forces, and we are starting to collaborate closely, combining our expertise in different areas to build structures and quantum capabilities, which increase our leading position in optics and photonics and give us a unique advantage.”
The research was conducted by faculty, students and staff in UCF’s College of Optics and Photonics (CREOL), including the Quantum Silicon Photonics research group. The work was funded by the National Science Foundation under their NSF ExpandQISE program (award No. 2328993).
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