Edo Waks - US grants

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have been extensively researched as a promising alternative to single atoms for the study of quantum physics and development of quantum technology. In this research program the PI will use photonic crystal structures to modify and enhance QD properties, allowing coherent interactions between a QD and a photon field. Such interactions are essential elements of photonic quantum information processing.

Intellectual Merit: The PI aims to design, fabricate, and optically characterize nanophotonic devices to coherently control and probe the quantum mechanical wavefunction of quantum dots on ultra-fast timescales. The devices will be composed of photonic crystal cavity-waveguide structures that have the ability to localize light to within a cubic wavelength. This localization creates strong interactions between a QD and an optical field, which will be used to investigate opto-electronic devices with improved performance, study basic physical properties of QDs, and create entanglement between QDs and photons. In addition, QD-photon entanglement will be studied as a method for creating optical interconnects between spatially separated QDs to develop integrated quantum devices.

Broader impact: The proposed research will help develop new fundamental concepts in the control of semiconductor nanostructures at the quantum level, as well as coherent light-matter interactions. The proposal also includes an extensive educational outreach effort. The PI has recently developed an undergraduate summer internship program which enables University of Maryland students to participate in leading research. He will expand this program to include local high school students.

The objectives of this research are to study and control the spin properties of semiconductor quantum dots using simultaneous optical and microwave field excitation. The approach is to use optical fields to create atomic transitions while simultaneously using a microwave field to induce spin flips, allowing access to atomic transitions that are normally forbidden due to spin selection rules. This method will be used to achieve coherent control of dark excitons in an indium arsenide quantum dot .

Intellectual merit: The proposed research will enable the study of fundamental spin properties in semiconductors, which is of central importance to a broad range of research fields including condensed matter physics, quantum optics, quantum information, and spintronics. It will also allow the probing and control dark of exciton states whose properties are poorly understood. Control of dark excitons further provides a method for storage and re-release of single photons, and can serve as a quantum memory for future quantum computers and quantum networks, as well as new opto-electronic and magneto-optic devices that use quantum properties to achieve improved functionality

Broader impact: This research will advance scientific knowledge in a broad range of fields that include optics, microwave engineering, and atomic physics. It could pave the wave for future exponentially faster quantum computers and unconditionally secure quantum networks. It will also provide research and educational opportunities for graduate students, and promote undergraduate and high school research through participation in the Summer Research Program at the Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics.

PI: Munday, Jeremy
Proposal Number: 1335857
Institution: University of Maryland College Park
Title: High efficiency photovoltaics through engineering spontaneous emission

The objective of this project is to show that the suppression of the spontaneous emission rate of a solar cell leads to an improvement in the cell?s efficiency. The inhibition of spontaneous emission leads to increased carrier concentrations and hence an increase in the quasi-Fermi level splitting and cell voltage. To suppress the spontaneous emission rate, photonic crystals will be used, which are well known to decrease the radiative rate of recombining carriers. This effect will lead to higher open circuit voltages and hence higher cell efficiencies.

Over the past two decades, much work has been done in the two separate fields of spontaneous emission engineering and in photovoltaics. This proposal represents the convergence of these fields, which may have a transformative impact on photovoltaic devices by adding an additional degree of freedom to the design: spontaneous emission engineering. Photonic crystals are known to inhibit spontaneous emission, which leads to an increase in the carrier lifetime. By increasing the free carrier lifetime, and hence the density of free carriers, the quasi-Fermi level splitting increases, leading to an improvement in the open circuit voltage. In this project, photonic crystal solar cells will be developed to suppress spontaneous emission and improve solar cell power conversion efficiencies.

In addition to the societal benefits of improving clean energy generation technologies, the PIs will engage in a number of activities aimed to encourage future scientists, educate the public, and disseminate new finding to the scientific community. These activities include recruitment of under-represented groups through the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Undergraduate Research Program (LSAMP URP) at the University of Maryland, the Undergraduate Summer Research Program within the Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, and outreach to local high schools by encouraging and supporting high school students to perform research projects in their labs.

This award is jointly made by two programs the Instrument Development for Biological Research program (IDBR) and Emerging Frontiers (EF) in the Directorate of Biological Sciences (BIO).

The brain is a complex network of interconnected circuits that exchange signals in the form of action potentials. These action potentials hold the key to understanding cognition and complex thought. Currently available non-invasive methods for probing neuronal activity cannot achieve sufficient spatial or temporal resolution to observe individual action potentials from single neurons or small clusters, which is a major limitation. This principal investigator proposes to study a novel approach for non-invasive measurements that will be able to read out individual action potentials across the entire brain. This project will take advantage of recent advances in spintronic devices to create injectable nano-reporters that will detect weak electrical signals in the brain and convert them to microwave signals that can be detected wirelessly outside the body. The detection device to be used is the spin-torque nano-oscillator (STNO), which converts electrical signals into microwave field oscillations that can be detected wirelessly. This approach could ultimately lead to the first non-invasive technology capable of measuring activations of individual neurons and small-scale neuronal networks in live primates and humans. This capability would have a major impact on our understanding of the inner workings of the brain and cognition. It could also have important clinical applications, particularly in the areas of neurological disorders and brain machine interfaces.

The ability to monitor neuronal activity at the cellular level non-invasively is crucial for attaining a better understanding of cognition, as well as many clinical applications. Currently, all non-invasive methods for monitoring brain activity cannot simultaneously achieve the spatial and temporal resolution required to sense individual action potentials from a single neuron. This project is a novel approach for non-invasive measurements that will be able to read out individual action potentials across the whole brain from single neurons. To achieve the transduction of electrical activity to microwaves, a nano-sized device called a spin-torque nano-oscillator (STNO) will be used that converts steady electrical signals into microwave frequency magnetic field oscillations that can be detected wirelessly. The STNO responds in microseconds to electric signals, and thus can be directly used to measure individual neuronal action potentials. In addition, the STNO is a nano-scale device and can report on the firing and location of a single neuron. This project represents the first application to neurobiology of the exciting and rapidly evolving field of spintronics. A test system will be developed that includes a neuron simulator (a tunable circuit that simulates the voltages and impedance of a single neuron) and a high sensitivity microwave receiver to demonstrate the ability of these devices to report that activation state of a neuron wirelessly. this project also involves the design, fabrication, and test optimization of STNO devices for neurobiological applications. The ultimate and specific goal of this EAGER project is to perform a proof-of-concept demonstration of the proposed apparatus on a live squid axon.

This project involves the acquisition of a chemical vapor deposition system for the growth of semiconductor materials to advance the frontier of advanced photonic and electronics devices. This equipment will help to establish a new Laboratory at the University of Maryland (UMD) which will serve as a resource center for the broad community of researchers working in the field of semiconductor materials and devices. The strategic location in the National Capital Region will leverage the existing expertise at UMD and nearby institutions to provide many users and collaborators. The research enabled by this acquisition will lead to higher efficiency devices that will reduce power consumption in data centers and will ensure secure communication networks. Collaboration with nearby Norfolk State University will permit several of their professors and students to participate in the planned research. The PIs will involve students from local high schools to take part in research summer programs. Workshops will be organized in the Washington area to energize collaborations between local universities, government laboratories and local industry.


The proposed work to establish a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system will serve as the center for preparation of III-nitride semiconductor materials and devices. The system will be used by researchers at UMD and nearby institutions to address many areas of nitride-based photonics and electronics devices. There will be five overlapping research thrust areas: Nitride Materials Design and Synthesis; Nitride Quantum Devices; Nitride Optical Devices; Nitride Devices for Energy Applications; and, Nitride Electronic and Sensor Devices. The acquisition will promote multidisciplinary efforts between researchers in materials science, chemical engineering, device physics and electrical engineering. The UMD research team, and their collaborators from across the US, will focus on a number of fundamental issues currently limiting the performance of nitride-based device structures, including quantum dots in nitrides for quantum information at room temperature and novel nanowire devices for solid state lighting. The MOCVD system will allow exploration of the unique properties of III-nitride materials leading to photovoltaic devices for highly-efficient solar energy collection, high power devices for smart grid applications, and efficient photonic detectors based on confined epitaxy. The PI and co-PIs have the necessary expertise required for this utilization of the MOCVD system and for the planned research activities.

In a quantum network, information is transmitted and processed using quantum mechanical objects called qubits. This revolutionary computational paradigm enables unprecedented information processing capabilities such as unbreakable cryptographic codes and exponential speedup of computational tasks. To achieve these remarkable capabilities requires the ability to both store qubits and create qubit-qubit interactions over long distances. Trapped spins in solids offer a remarkable system for storing quantum information, but these spins cannot easily interact with each other unless they are in close proximity. Photons provide a promising solution to this problem because they can be transmitted over long distances to create effective interactions between spins that are separated by long distances. However, long distance communication requires photons at optical frequencies while spins usually have resonances in the microwave frequency ranges. Because of this large frequency mismatch, photons typically don't interact with spins. In this project, the group will use optical cavities strongly coupled to a single spin trapped in a quantum dot to solve this problem. Cavities can create a strong effective spin-photon interface by enhancing light-matter interactions. These enhanced interactions open up the possibility for optical frequency photons to couple spins separated by long distances for quantum networks. The group will demonstrate photon mediated spin interactions using quantum dots coupled to optical cavities. Quantum dots are nanoscale structures that behave as artificial atoms. A quantum dot can capture an additional charge that behaves as a trapped spin qubit. By strongly coupling the quantum dot to a cavity, the group will develop a device called a quantum transistor, which forms the basic building block for complex quantum networks. Methods to utilize this device to implement quantum logic operations over long distances will be explored. These results could ultimately enable chip-integrated solid-state quantum devices that form the building blocks for long distance quantum networks.

A novel approach to spin-based quantum information processing where photons mediate effective spin-spin interactions will be developed. The fundamental building block for this approach is the spin-photon quantum transistor, which enables a single spin quantum bit (qubit) to apply quantum logic operations on a photon. This spin-photon transistor will be realized using a charged indium arsenide (InAs) quantum dot in a photonic crystal cavity. The charged dot contains an additional electron or hole that provides a spin degree of freedom with long coherence times. By coupling the quantum dot to a photonic crystal cavity, it is possible to attain a strong light-matter interface where the state of the spin modulates the cavity spectrum. This work will attain a better scientific understanding of the system and underlying decoherence mechanisms, and address practical device design and fabrication challenges for creating a scalable quantum architecture. This will provide a unique approach to spin-based quantum information processing that have many important advantages including the ability to couple arbitrary spins, implement gate operations on ultra-fast timescales, and create effective interactions over long distances for quantum networking. Novel devices that could enable quantum information processing in a chip-integrated device that is compact and scalable will be investigated. Major device design and fabrication challenges will be addressed that are crucial for scalable implementation including optimizing light-matter interactions in photonic crystals and aligning quantum dots spatially and spectrally with resonator modes. This could provide a direct pathway for developing highly compact and scalable quantum information processing on a semiconductor chip. This capability would have a revolutionary impact on information technology, enabling exponential faster computation, unconditionally secure communication, and high precision sensors that operate far below the classical noise limit. The devices developed could have major impact in other fields such as opto-electronics, nonlinear optics, and spintronics. In addition to the proposed research effort, the research program will support training of graduate and undergraduate students, and develop an outreach program to create interdisciplinary research opportunities for local high school students.

Title: Quantum Plasmonics for Low-Photon-Number Nonlinear Optics and Quantum Circuits

Metallic nanostructures can confine light to nanometer length scales in the form of surface-plasmon polaritons, which are electromagnetic waves that propagate at the interface between metallic and dielectric surfaces. Surface plasmons can miniaturize optical devices to the nanoscale, and also generate extremely high electromagnetic intensities that create strong light-matter interactions. These properties open up the possibility for ultra-compact active optical devices such as optical switches, modulators, and wavelength converters, that operate at very high speeds and low energies. To achieve these capabilities, however, requires plasmonic nanostructures with a strong nonlinear optical response.
Recent theoretical work has shown that when surface plasmons interact with single quantum emitters the two systems can hybridize to form new coupled modes of light and matter. In this hybridized regime, a single plasmon can produce a nonlinear optical response, paving the way for nonlinear plasmonic circuits operating at the fundamental quantum energy limit. To date, however, this hybridized regime remains elusive because quantum emitters typically suffer from large dephasing due to phonons and spectral wandering.
In this program, we will investigate the interaction between metallic nanostructures and indium arsenide quantum dots to study the hybridized regime and develop ultra-fast nonlinear and quantum devices. Indium arsenide quantum dots exhibit a spectrally pure emission making them ideal for achieving hybridization. We will use these high quality quantum emitters to demonstrate hybridization, and explore its nonlinear and quantum optical properties. This program could ultimately pave the way towards nanoscale photonic devices with ultra-low energy dissipation, as well as compact quantum circuits that provide exponential computational speedup and unconditionally secure communication. The program will also support an outreach effort that provides research opportunities for undergraduate and high school students.

Technical Description
Plasmonic nanostructures can strongly enhance light-matter interactions by confining light to the nanoscale in the form of surface plasmon polaritons (or simply plasmons). Recently, it has been theoretically predicted that when a quantum emitter is placed in the high field region of a plasmonic nanostructure the two systems can hybridize. In this hybridized regime, the emitter and plasmon form new coupled modes that take on both atomic and photonic properties. These hybridized modes exhibit strong optical nonlinearities near the single photon level, making them a highly compelling system for developing opto-electronic and quantum devices with ultra-low power dissipation.
Hybridization between single quantum emitters and plasmons has yet to be demonstrated because quantum emitters usually exhibit rapid dipole dephasing due to phonon scattering and spectral wandering. This dephasing destroys the quantum interference that creates the hybridized mode. We propose to overcome this problem using indium arsenide (InAs) quantum dots that exhibit a narrow and nearly transform limited optical emission, making them promising systems for attaining the hybridized regime.
A key challenge to coupling these InAs quantum dots to metal nanostructures is that they are embedded in a gallium arsenide matrix and cannot be easily deposited onto plasmonic devices. We will address this challenge through a combination of device design and state-of-the-art nanofabrication techniques. We will characterize the linear and nonlinear properties of fabricated devices. We will then utilize the hybridized regime to demonstrate a nanophotonic optical transistor where a single absorbed control photon can switch many signal photons. We will also utilize the hybridized regime to create an interface between a single trapped spin in a quantum dot and a surface plasmon, which could serve as a fundamental building block for nanoscale quantum circuits. This program could ultimately pave the way towards nanoscale nonlinear photonic devices with ultra-low energy dissipation, and compact quantum circuits that provide exponential computational speedup and unconditionally secure communication.

Abstract title: EFRI ACQUIRE: Development of scalable quantum networks using ion chips and integrated photonics

Abstract:

Nontechnical description: Utilizing quantum mechanical systems to transmit and process information provides a fundamental advantage over classical approaches, with foundational impact on the fields of communication, networking, computer science, and fundamental quantum physics. A seminal example is the quantum network. In contrast to a classical communication networks, a quantum network stores and transmits information using quantum objects such as single atoms and single photons. By doing so, a quantum network can communicate with unconditional security and anonymity, and can also interconnect quantum computers to form a quantum internet. But realizing these technological capabilities requires the ability to store and transmit quantum information while preserving the delicate quantum state of the system. Ions trapped in electric fields constitute the best quantum memory to date. They can store quantum information for times exceeding tens of minutes, and can also emit single photons, the ideal carriers of quantum information that are entangled with quantum memory. But a number of significant challenges remain before a trapped-ion quantum network can become a reality. Ions emit visible- and ultraviolet-wavelength photons that are not compatible with fiber-optic networks. These photons must also be processed with high efficiency without destroying the delicate quantum signals that they carry. In this program, we will combine silicon-chip traps and integrated photonics to overcome these challenges. If successful, this project will provide the core hardware for a scalable and efficient quantum network that can process and transmit quantum information with unprecedented speed and distance.

Technical abstract: By combining integrated photonics with silicon-based ion-chip traps, we will develop the technology for scalable quantum networks based on compact, chip-integrated quantum hardware operating at room temperature. Trapped ions are currently the leading platform for quantum information processing, with coherence times exceeding tens of minutes. They are also one of the few room-temperature sources of indistinguishable single photons that can exhibit the two-photon interference effects required for photon-mediated quantum interactions. The program will utilize micro-fabricated ion-chip traps to assemble and manipulate atomic ion chains on a silicon chip that serve as both efficient room-temperature single-photon sources and long-lived quantum memories. Integrated photonic structures will process photons originating from multiple ion traps to mediate long-distance quantum interactions at unprecedented efficiencies and fidelities. Integrated nonlinear photonic devices will furthermore convert photons emitted by trapped ions to telecom wavelengths for long-distance fiber propagation. The project will deploy and demonstrate compact quantum devices in a practical optical network. This highly multi-disciplinary program ultimately aims to demonstrate the fundamental operations of a quantum network, which can be used for entanglement distribution, quantum error correction, and distribution of quantum information and quantum keys.

Many phenomena in natural and engineered systems are both spatial and temporal, meaning that they involve dynamical changes and movements of nonuniform patterns. Examples include wave propagation, heating and cooling, chemical reactions, and diffusion. The ability to visualize these phenomena is fundamentally limited both by how fast they are and how small they are. Science has made remarkable improvements in the spatial resolution of microscopes, which has enabled the now-mature field of nanotechnology. At the same time, pulsed laser systems can resolve dynamical processes with femtosecond resolution -- far faster than even the best electrical detectors or cameras. This project aims to develop a novel instrument that will combine the spatial capabilities of a near-field microscope with the temporal resolution of a femtosecond laser, which is currently not available in commercial instruments. This tool will be capable of resolving nanoscale spatial structure, while simultaneously measuring ultrafast effects with femtosecond resolution in systems ranging from nanoelectronic devices to metallic nanostructures and solar cells. The unique instrument will provide valuable training for scientists and students at all levels, who will both develop and utilize it.

The combination of two different technologies, the femtosecond laser and the near-field microscope, will require significant engineering research, iteration, optimization, and system integration over the three-year period of this project. The proposed instrument will replace the continuous-wave laser typically used in a near-field scanning optical microscope with an ultrafast tunable pulsed laser, in order to produce an intense spatially and temporally localized optical stimulus that can excite nonlinear effects in the material or device at the nanoscale. A second, weaker temporally-delayed optical pulse will then be used to probe the properties and dynamics with femtosecond resolution. The proposed system will allow for time-resolved and spatially-resolved measurements at wavelengths ranging from 340 nm to 12,000 nm. The new instrument will enable the study of hot-carrier dynamics in metals and two-dimensional (2D) materials, investigation of the dynamic electrical response of perovskite materials for advanced optoelectronics, direct imaging of nanophotonic devices and resonant structures, and observation of heterogeneous surface chemistry and grain boundaries in transition-metal oxides.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

This project will unite complementary expertise in quantum materials chemistry, theoretical physics, and quantum information science through an integrated collaboration involving two departments at the University of Maryland (Chemistry and Biochemistry, Electrical and Computer Engineering) and the UMD-NIST Joint Quantum Institute. It will also leverage ongoing collaborations with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) on photophysics and with IBM on electronics interfacing. The project will promote the progress of science by advancing fundamental understanding of excitons at trapping defects and realizing a single-photon source that operates at room temperature and can be driven electrically. In addition to advancing an emerging frontier across chemistry, physics, quantum information science, and engineering, the work in this project is anticipated to also have a positive societal impact. First, the work will contribute to the development of next-generation computing and information technology by building interfaces between electronics and single-photon optics. Second, the project will provide exciting opportunities to engage students and reach a broader community. Particularly, this collaborative project will provide unique training opportunities for the next-generation workforce in quantum information science and technology through close collaborations with IBM and LANL, which are expected to enrich graduate training in this quickly evolving interdisciplinary field.

This RAISE project will focus on probing and controlling the radiative recombination of electrons and holes at organic color-centers with the goal of achieving electrically driven single-photon sources that work at room temperature. Because the color centers are directly created in a carbon nanotube semiconductor host that can be controlled with established semiconductor technologies, electrons and holes can be electrically injected and directed to the color center where they recombine to produce single photons. This hypothesis is strongly supported by preliminary results and will be fully verified by experimental and theoretical efforts. The work is potentially groundbreaking and technologically transformative. First, organic color-centers provide a chemical pathway to synthesize high-quality single-photon sources. Unlike other color centers, which typically occur as native defects, organic color-centers can be synthetically created with molecular precision, thus opening vast opportunities for chemical innovation. Second, organic color-centers act as a two-level system in a semiconductor, effectively providing a "desktop atomic physics" laboratory for studying quasi-particles such as excitons and trions in trapping defects. Third, single-photon sources that can be driven electrically and work at room temperature will be an enabling element for quantum information science. Single photons are ideal quantum bits because they exhibit nearly infinite coherence time and can propagate over long distances. However, currently available solid-state single-photon sources suffer from limited scalability. Organic color-centers can be synthetically created in a semiconductor with molecular precision, opening up the possibility to address this significant challenge.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Nontechnical Description: Quantum photonic processors generate, process, and measure quantum states of light on-chip to provide exponential advantages in computation, simulation, and communication. But such processors are also very sensitive to noise and loss. To realize practical quantum photonic processors that can solve useful problems requires quantum error correction which, like classical error correction, incorporates redundancy in order to protect the information from faults in the system. But the realization of these error correcting codes with photons is extremely challenging and requires very efficient photon sources, mode transformations, and single photon nonlinearities. Recent progress in integrated photonics and quantum optics has provided these core individual components, but integrating them into complex fault-tolerant systems remains extremely challenging. This program aims to combine large-scale silicon photonics, quantum emitters, and strongly nonlinear materials to build next generation quantum photonics processors that can protect quantum information using error correction. To address this challenging goal, the principal investigators will combine state-of-the-art quantum dot sources and nonlinearities with foundry based silicon photonics, a scalable and CMOS-compatible photonic platform. New fabrication approaches will be developed to combine these disparate components into a single device structure that can manipulate and interact photons with each other at an unprecedented scale. These devices will operate at the technologically important telecommunications band, and could potentially interfaced with existing infrastructure to develop continental-scale unconditionally secure communication networks. They could also implement next generation quantum algorithms advancing drug design, materials science and big data -- all at a scale where classical machines can no longer keep pace. This program will also contain a significant outreach effort aimed at developing the next generation of quantum engineers by mentoring, new curriculum development, and the development of a youtube channel for quantum engineering.

Technical Description: A key goal of this program is a unification of the core individual hardware components into a single system that can efficiently process quantum states of light on a semiconductor chip. These core components include single photon sources, high-fidelity mode transformations, and strong single-photon nonlinearities. By bringing together a combination of complementary expertise in large-scale silicon photonics design, quantum emitter spectroscopy, and nano-fabrication of CMOS control, this proposal will develop systems level solutions to build next generation quantum photonics processors that can perform photonic quantum error correction, the key ingredient for scalable quantum information processing. To generate single photons, the team will utilize high-efficiency single photon sources based on InAs quantum dots. Large-scale Si photonic circuits will apply complex linear mode transformations on generated photons. Finally, cavity-coupled quantum dots in the strong coupling regime will implement single photon nonlinearities to generate two-qubit interactions. Hybrid fabrication techniques will be leveraged to combine different material platforms into a single circuit that can implement photonic error correction for loss, the dominant fault mechanism for photonic qubits. Such loss error correction codes are essential for any scalable quantum information processing application including photonic quantum computers and one-way quantum repeaters that can attain long distance and high speeds simultaneously.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

The NSF Convergence Accelerator supports use-inspired, team-based, multidisciplinary efforts that address challenges of national importance and will produce deliverables of value to society in the near future. Just as the internet has transformed virtually every aspect of our lives by enabling connectivity amongst a myriad of users in different geographical locations, a quantum internet could have a similar impact. A quantum internet would distribute quantum computing capabilities securely and broadly to a broad user base (academic and nonacademic). Those capabilities could enable advances in various applications from cybersecurity, to data analytics, to medicine. This program seeks to merge quantum computers over a quantum internet, whilst leveraging the current internet infrastructure.

The primary goal of this program is to enable trapped ion quantum computers to communicate over the internet. The main technical thrusts include: i) developing a high efficiency qubit interface, ii) developing a chip scale quantum reconfigurable add-drop multiplexer, and iii) devising protocols to leverage the hardware to realize a full-scale quantum network. The network will use Ytterbium ions for memory (data) qubits and Barium ions for the optical (interconnect) qubit. This project is focused on developing long range (kilometer distance) quantum interconnects between remote quantum computing sites. As such, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Quantum Internet (MARQI) network, will be formed. This demonstration will show secure and anonymous communication beyond the current state of the art. The ability to connect quantum computers over the internet will provide a major technological advancement. Outreach efforts to develop educational modules for the general public and industry that will educate them on the current state and future potential of quantum technology is planned.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

The NSF Convergence Accelerator program supports use-inspired, team-based, multidisciplinary efforts that address challenges of national importance and will produce deliverables of value to society in the near future.


The QuaNeCQT project (Quantum Networks to Connect Quantum Technology) aims to create quantum interconnects that can connect quantum
computers that are physically located several kilometers apart.

These interconnects enable users to leverage the vast existing infrastructure that is our current Internet to develop the next generation quantum internet. Our solution is composed of two hardware modules, the quantum frequency conversion (qFC) module and the quantum reconfigurable add-drop multiplexer (qROADM) module. The qFC converts photons from a quantum computer to provisioned telecom wavelength channels while preserving the entanglement with the internal quantum memory of the quantum computer. The qROADM controls the flow of network traffic using an integrated photonic circuit and performs entanglement swapping. Both modules fully integrate quantum functionalities with all required classical communication (fiber polarization stabilization, laser frequency locking, clock distribution etc…). The qFC and qROADM modules provide a universal networking solution that can be readily adapted to virtually any quantum computer architecture. The Phase II program will focus on the specific use-case of ion trap quantum computers, which are some of the most scalable quantum computers currently available.

The broader impacts of this project will include causing a significant increase in the user base for quantum computers by providing secure access to end users as well as certification of the legitimacy of the quantum computation. As quantum technology converges with the Internet, a new technology sector would emerge bringing with it the potential for major economic growth by producing rapid technological innovation and creating a large number of new jobs for the future “quantum workforce,” just as the emergence of the Internet did towards the late 20th century. The program will also entail an outreach effort to develop educational modules for the general public and industry that will educate them on the current state and future potential of quantum technology.


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This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Quantum technology, which derives its advantage from the non-intuitive laws of quantum physics, promises to drastically alter the course of computer, network, and sensor development. The realization of this technology relies on the transmission of the smallest units of energy, often across large distances. This is challenging because each unit can be easily misidentified or lost to the environment. Fortunately, particles of light – photons - can circumvent this, and therefore are promising carriers of quantum information even in ambient conditions. However, it is an outstanding challenge to efficiently interface photons with emerging quantum technologies, such as quantum processors and sensors. Thus, realizing so-called quantum interconnects, quantum analog of optical networks that form the backbone of internet, is essential to enable scalability and usability of all quantum technologies. The team is combining expertise in microscale fabrication, non-linear optics, electronics, superconductivity, and material science, to realize transmitter and receiver elements of quantum interconnects for light, all integrated on a photonic chip. This interdisciplinary program provides a unique training ground for students and creates a pipeline for the quantum-ready workforce. The team is actively exploring opportunities for commercialization, leveraging partnerships with industry. Beyond the quantum realm, the team’s work is poised to advance the state of the art in classical communication technology.

Optical photons have many attractive properties to realize quantum interconnects, the crucial interfaces between quantum technologies. Photons exist under ambient conditions, can travel long distances, are generally impervious to environmental noise, and can be generated, manipulated, and detected easily. These properties also introduce challenges to realizing quantum technologies that require deterministic interactions between photons, as well as efficient interactions between photons and matter qubits. Both are essential for transmitting quantum information over lossy or long-distance channel, by way of quantum repeaters. Overcoming limitations of existing photonic platforms, the team will develop a scalable, ultra-low-loss, integrated quantum photonic platform based on high-quality thin-film lithium niobate films, and utilize it to realize quantum transmitters and receivers. The approach uses frequency multiplexing and feed-forward to generate and distribute entanglement, leveraging fast single-photon detectors and switches, solid-state quantum memories, and photon pair sources, all integrated on the same chip. Importantly, our team is developing material growth techniques to realize high-quality and ultra-low-loss stoichiometric single-crystal lithium niobate device layers that outperform commercially available material. As an aspirational and stretch goal of the program, the PI and his collaborators are utilizing these components to demonstrate a frequency multiplexed photonic quantum repeater.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.