FET: Small: Modeling, Simulation, and Design for Robustness and Performance in Semiconductor-Based Quantum Computing

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Quantum computing has the potential to eventually revolutionize computing technologies and impact many research fields as well as daily life, including discovery of new materials, design of new drugs, financial modeling, security and cryptography, and artificial intelligence. Among various approaches for hardware realization of quantum computing, semiconductor-based quantum computing has the advantage to harvest and leverage the vast infrastructure and success of the semiconductor chip industry, which promises low cost and small size. Significant challenges, however, remain to controllably and precisely entangle semiconductor spin quantum bits (qubits), transmit quantum information between them, and eventually realize a large-scale semiconductor quantum computer. In this project, new simulation methods and computer-aided design (CAD) frameworks will be developed to address key hardware design challenges in semiconductor-based quantum computing. Simulation and design tools will be developed and disseminated online to extensively support the education and research activities in semiconductor quantum computing. By developing new curriculum and engaging students from high school to graduate levels, the project also contributes to addressing the challenge of educating a new generation of quantum workforce.The project aims to: (i) develop a multiscale simulation framework that incorporates 3D technology CAD simulations into physics-based models for semiconductor quantum gates; (ii) develop a modeling and simulation framework for quantum interconnects between semiconductor spin qubits mediated by a photon channel via strongly coupled spin-photon interfaces; (iii) simulate decoherence mechanisms in semiconductor quantum gates and develop methods to minimize their impact; and (iv) model the variability and defect mechanisms and their correlations in semiconductor quantum gates and circuits, and translate insights gained from variability and defect-aware simulations to techniques for mitigating the variability effects. This project will advance modeling and simulation capabilities and develop an essential knowledge base for designing semiconductor-based quantum computing hardware with enhanced speed, fidelity, integration density, and reliability.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.