Planning Grant: Engineering Research Center for Photonic Quantum Networks (PQN)

工程研究中心规划拨款竞赛是ERC项目的试点征集。规划补助金不需要作为ERC竞赛的一部分，但它旨在在团队之间建立能力，以规划聚合的、中心规模的工程研究。该奖项资助了亚利桑那大学及其合作机构斯坦福大学、哈佛大学、马萨诸塞大学阿姆赫斯特分校和西北大学的一项技术规划和聚合团队活动，该活动将吸引学术界、工业界和政府实验室的利益相关者。目标是将支持开发第一个可扩展光子量子网络的元素到位，用于安全通信、量子高级传感和信息处理，为第一个量子互联网铺平道路。规划过程将为从k-12到研究生阶段的学生制定一个综合研究和教育计划，重点是在整个项目中纳入不同的观点。规划拨款将支持一个项目，该项目将通过开发量子网络的转型技术来推进知识。多功能量子中继器节点将支持几乎任何需要量子通信或纠缠作为资源的应用，与核心光子网络无缝集成。将考虑三个研究重点：量子网络架构，系统和网络，量子纳米光子子系统集成，量子材料，子系统和器件。规划工作将提供早期反馈，优先考虑系统级目标的关键设备指标，并绘制出网络的应用驱动设计。将制定一项计划，培养学生在量子信息科学和工程方面的工业成功、国际技能和全系统经验。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Planning Grants for Engineering Research Centers competition was run as a pilot solicitation within the ERC program. Planning grants are not required as part of the full ERC competition, but intended to build capacity among teams to plan for convergent, center-scale engineering research. This award funds an effort by the University of Arizona and its partner institutions Stanford University, Harvard University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Northwestern University for a technical planning and convergent team exercise that will engage stakeholders in academia, industry, and government laboratories. The objective is to put elements in place that will support the development of the first scalable photonic quantum network for secure communications, quantum advanced sensing, and information processing, that paves the way to the first quantum internet. The planning process will develop a plan for an integrated research and education plan for students from k-12 through the graduate level, with a focus on the inclusion of diverse perspectives throughout the project.The planning grant will support a project that will advance knowledge by developing transformational technologies for quantum networks. A versatile quantum repeater node will support virtually any application that requires quantum communication or entanglement as a resource, to be seamlessly integrated with a core photonic network. Three research thrusts will be considered: Quantum Network Architectures, Systems, and Networks, Quantum Nanophotonic Subsystem Integration, and Quantum Materials, Subsystems, and Devices. The planning exercise will provide early feedback to prioritize key device metrics for system-level goals and chart out the applications-driven design of a network. A plan to train students for industrial success, international skills, and systems-wide experience in quantum information science and engineering will be developed.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.