Publications
DSL-Corner
Quantum-Corner
About me
Rob F.M. van den Brink - Publications
Contributions to the standardisation of Quantum Technology
Updated on 6 may 2026Stakeholders
- CEN-CENELEC JTC22, is an official body within CEN-CENELEC
for producing standards on quantum technology.
It started in March 2023, as the follow up of FGQT, and is subdevided into several working groups.
- WG1 is a strategic working group for steering JTC22.
- WG2 is dedicated to Quantum Metrology,
- WG3 is dedicated to Quantum Computing, and
- WG4 is dedicated to Quantum Communications.
- CEN-CENELEC FGQT,
or Focus Group Quantum Technology, was a working group operating within CEN-CENELEC and a predecessor of JTC22.
It started in june 2020, with many European Quantum experts, to prepare for future standardisation of Quantum Technology.
FGQT is not producing a standard, but has produced a so-called Roadmap and a Use cases document. That roadmap document has identify the needs for future standardisation, raises ideas on how to subdivide the broad area of Quantum Technology into smaller chuncks, and has resulted in the founding of CEN-CENELEC JTC22 standardisation body. - NEN is the Dutch Standardisation Organisation. Many (start-up) vendors from the Netherlands are working together within NEN to pre-discuss strategies and contributions to CEN-CENELEC.
- Delft Circuits is a rapid growing start-up company in the Netherlands, creating hardware for Quantum Engineers.
The focus is on products related to the Control Highway of a quantum computer.
Since 2019 I am working as Scientific Advisor within Delft Circuits, and also very active in the standardisation of Quantum Technology.
Standardisation
Since Quantum Technology is a rather new area, and its standardisation was never done before 2020, the creation of a consensus view on how to do that has appeared to be quite challenging. Standardisation started within CEN-CENELEC in june 2020 by founding FGQT, a Focus Group on Quantum Technology. It developed a vision and delivered a roadmap towards standardisation (see below). During that time some consensus has been reached on the outlines of how to organize the full stack of a quantum computer. This all resulted in dec 2022 in the founding of JTC22, a Joined Technical Committee, dedicated to produce offical standards on Quantum Technology as a whole.The vision is that when these product are going to comply with future standards, research teams and vendors all over the world can buy hardware and software modules from a variety of vendors from which they can assemble a complete quantum computer. This process is already ongoing, since a whole range of small (start-up) and medium enterprises are creating such modules. Larger enterprises are concentrating on increasing the number of qubits in a single quantum computer.
The aim of JTC22/WG3 is to create a set of standards enabling the concept of a modular quantum computer, based on a mature supply chain of components and building blocks from which a system integrator can build a quantum computer. Since JTC22 was founded, my focus has concentrated on the creation of such standards. I am acting as project leader within JTC22/WG3 on a few work items to create a framework called "layer model" and to fill-in the details on its layers.
Related Publications and Standards
From the beginning of quantum standardisation, my focus has concentrated on the creation of a few standards and public documents to enable the modular quantum computer.Publications:
- Towards European Standards for Quantum Technologies, a journal paper presenting that view, and published in a special issue of EPJ Quantum Technology and Arxiv.
- a Roadmap document from FGQT, offering an entire view on the standardisation of Quantum Technology as a whole, and a state of the art.
- a Use cases documentform FGQT.
- Layer model for gate-based modular quantum computers, a journal paper covering all details and background of the associated standard CEN/CLC/TR 18202:2025 and published in Quantum Information Processing.
- Layer Model of Quantum Computing has been delivered as "CEN/CLC/TR 18202:2025" and can be acquired via national standardisation bodies such as NEN.
- Cryogenic Solid State Quantum Computing, of which Draft10 is considered as mature
- Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), which is currently under development.
Contributions about the "Modular Quantum Computer"
Contributions to FGQT within CEN-CENELEC | ||
Creating a structure for future standardizing Quantum Technology (in FGQT) | ||
| 2020 | N010 Proposal for TOC on gated quantum computing | Brink / july 2020 |
| 2020 | N050a Quantum computing use case | Neumann, Brink, Fratinni, Corsi / dec 2020 |
| 2021 | N058a ToC Quantum Computing Hardware | Brink, Rol, Bultink, Bruno, Neumann / jan 2021 |
| 2021 | N074 Changes to quantum computing use case | Neumann, Brink, Fratinni, Corsi / feb 2021 |
| 2021 | N080 NEN press release about FGQT | Deventer, Neumann, Brink, Rol / feb 2021 |
| 2021 | N081a Contribution Proposal for terminology in AnnexX | Rol, Neumann, Bultink, Brink / feb 2021 |
| 2021 | N082a Contribution Proposal overview of concepts in_AnnexX | Rol, Neumann, Bultink, Brink / feb 2021 |
| 2021 | N107 Photonic architectures | Kassenberg, Venderbosch, Brink, Vlothuizen, Bultink, Verhoeff / aug 2021 |
| 2021 | N113a Use case Cloud-based quantum computing | Neumann, Amoretti, Venderbosch, Brink / aug 2021 |
| 2021 | N115 Understanding proposal N112 | Brink / aug 2021 |
| 2021 | N119 Extending the ToC without disruption | Brink / aug 2021 |
| 2021 | N139 Functional description quantum photonic processor | Kassenberg, Venderbosch, Brink, Neumann / oct 2021 |
| 2021 | N154 Modularity and layering of Quantum Computing Hardware Stack | Brink, Neumann, Spethmann, Bautista, Monz, Spoerl, Venderbosch, Kassenberg, Wilhelm-Mauch / dec 2021 |
| 2022 | N164 Modularity and layering of software stack (v2) | Amoretti, Brink, Deventer, Farrugia, Gramegna, Langer, Manzalini, Martin, Neumann, Papadopoulos, Peev, Spethmann, Wilhem-Mauch / feb 2022 |
| 2022 | N194 Functional Description of the Control Highway | Brink / may 2022 |
| 2022 | N260 Cleaning up chapter 7 on Quantum Computing | Brink / sept 2022 |
| 2022 | N281 Cleaning-up annex E on Cryogenic Solid State Quantum Computing | Brink / nov 2022 |
| 2022 | N317 Are digital computers already old-fashioned? | Brink / nov 2022 |
Contributions to JTC22/WG3 within CEN-CENELEC on the "Layer Model for Quantum Computing" | ||
Creating a standard "Layer model for Quantum Computing" (in JTC22/WG3) | ||
| 2023 | N024 Functional description of the Communication Layer | Brink, Amoretti / sept 2023 |
| 2023 | N029 Functional description of the Hardware Abstraction Layer | Brink, Amoretti / sept 2023 |
| 2024 | N067 Rationale behind the Layer Model | Brink / march 2024 |
| 2024 | N076 Narrowing the Scope of the Layer Model | Deventer, Brink, Qarry, Fellner / may 2024 |
| 2024 | N075 Keeping "universal one way photonic QC" out of scope | Qarry, Brink, Spoerl, Fellner / june 2024 |
| 2024 | N080 Proposal for changing layer model diagram | Boschero, Brink, Amoretti, Qarry, Fellner, Spoerl / june 2024 |
| 2024 | N093_Current Status of WI on Layer Model | Brink / nov 2024 |
Contributions to initialize this Work Item and to progress the Draft | ||
| 2023 | (N013) Proposal to start a Work Item on a Layer Model of QC | Brink / march 2023 |
| 2023 | N015 Work Item form for a Layer Model | Brink / aug 2023 |
| 2023 | N019 Layer Model, Draft01 | Brink / aug 2023 |
| 2023 | N031 Layer Model, Draft02 | Brink / sept 2023 |
| 2023 | N045 Layer Model, Draft03 | Brink / nov 2023 |
| 2024 | N085 Layer Model, Draft04 | Brink / aug 2024 |
| 2024 | N101 Layer Model, Draft05 | Brink / dec 2024 |
| 2025 | N112 Layer Model, Draft06 | Brink / jan 2025 |
| 2025 | N121 Layer Model, Draft07 | Brink / jan 2025 |
| 2025 | N124 Layer Model, Draft08 | Brink / feb 2025 |
| 2025 |  | published version (2025-09-03) CEN CENELEC JTC22/WG3 reference: CEN/CLC/TR 18202:2025 |
Contributions to JTC22/WG3 within CEN-CENELEC on "Hardware Abstraction Layer" | ||
Technical Contributions | ||
| 2025 | N187 Hardware Abstraction Layer, introduction | Boschero, Brink, Amoretti, Torggler, Fellner / nov 2025 |
| 2025 | N186 Hardware Abstraction Layer, proposal | Boschero, Brink, Amoretti, Torggler, Fellner / nov 2025 |
| 2026 | N205 An overview of several HAL functionalities | Brink, Amoretti, Boschero / feb 2026 |
| 2026 | N206 Extending HAL functionalities with libraries | Brink, Amoretti, Boschero / feb 2026 |
| 2026 | N237 Tables with pre-defined gates for in the HAL | Brink / april 2026 |
| 2026 | N238 HAL Resource Management | Boschero, Brink, Amoretti, Torggler, Fellner, Suárez, Ruiz / april 2026 |
Contributions to initialize this Work Item and to progress the Draft | ||
| 2025 | N188 Proposal to start a Work Item on Hardware Abstraction Layer | Brink, Boschero / nov 2025 |
| 2026 | N202 Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), Draft01 | Brink / jan 2026 |
| 2026 | N215 Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), Draft02 | Brink / feb 2026 |
| 2026 | N239 Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), Draft03 | Brink / april 2026 |
| 2026 |  | The layer of the Hardware Abstraction Layer is within the red box of the layer model |
Presentations on Quantum Technology | ||
Presentations to stimulate further cooperation | ||
|
|