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Entangled Photon Pairs on Demand

按需纠缠光子对

基本信息

批准号：
2013464
负责人：
Todd Pittman
金额：
$ 45万
依托单位：
University of Maryland Baltimore County
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Continuing Grant
财政年份：
2020
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2020-09-01 至 2024-08-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2013464&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Entangled Photon Pairs Demand

项目摘要

The concept of quantum entanglement has been a key driving force of the Quantum Information Science (QIS) revolution. Entangled particles display correlations that are stronger than anything allowed by classical physics, and can serve as a powerful resource for quantum-enhanced technologies. Although entanglement has now been observed in a number of different physical systems—including electrons, atoms, and photons—significant advances in the production and control of entangled particles are crucial for the advancement of experimental QIS. Entangled photons, for example, possess a variety of desirable properties that may enable applications in quantum communications, quantum sensing, and quantum computing. However, the most widely used and high-quality source of entangled photons is based on an inherently random process that only rarely emits photon pairs. This project aims to overcome this randomness and develop a true “push-button” source of entangled photon pairs on demand. The realization of such a source will advance current entanglement-based photonic QIS experiments from “proof-of-principle” laboratory demonstrations towards practical real-world QIS applications. At the same time, investigations of the fundamental physics behind this on-demand source will serve the national interest of progressing our current understanding of quantum science. The project also provides education and research experience for both graduate and undergraduate students. This represents an outstanding opportunity for training the next generation of QIS scientists.The approach is based on the use of Parametric Down Conversion (PDC)—a process that is known to produce high-quality entangled photon pairs, but in a completely random fashion. The core idea is to overcome this inherent randomness by combining several random PDC pairs into one useful pair using techniques from the Linear Optics Quantum Computing (LOQC) paradigm, coupled with robust Cyclical Quantum Memory (CQM) devices. Roughly speaking, destructive LOQC-type measurements performed on a subset of the emitted photons are used to probabilistically “herald” the presence of exactly one remaining pair. The heralded pair is then actively switched into two loop-based CQM devices, which safely store the photons while maintaining their entanglement. The entangled pair can then be released on-demand when needed (ie. “push-button” operation). The experimental methods to be employed involve the use of synchronized ultrafast pulsed PDC sources, heralding signals based on quantum interference effects and single-photon detection, and high-speed electro-optic-based switching and storage loops. In many ways, this source of entangled photon pairs on-demand can be viewed as a small-scale special-purpose LOQC device with numerous practical applications in QIS.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.

量子纠缠的概念一直是量子信息科学(QIS)革命的关键驱动力。纠缠粒子显示出比经典物理学所允许的任何东西都更强的关联，可以作为量子增强技术的强大资源。虽然现在已经在包括电子、原子和光子在内的许多不同的物理系统中观察到了纠缠，但在纠缠粒子的产生和控制方面的重大进展对于实验QIS的发展至关重要。例如，纠缠光子具有各种理想的性质，这些性质可能使其在量子通信、量子传感和量子计算中得到应用。然而，最广泛使用和最高质量的纠缠光子源是基于一种内在的随机过程，这种过程很少发射光子对。该项目旨在克服这种随机性，并按需开发一种真正的纠缠光子对的“按钮”来源。这种源的实现将推动当前基于纠缠的光子QIS实验从“原则证明”的实验室演示转向实际的真实世界QIS应用。与此同时，对这种按需来源背后的基础物理的研究将服务于提高我们目前对量子科学的理解的国家利益。该项目还为研究生和本科生提供教育和研究经验。这是培训下一代QIS科学家的绝佳机会。该方法基于参数下转换(PDC)的使用-这是一种已知的产生高质量纠缠光子对的过程，但以完全随机的方式。其核心思想是通过使用线性光学量子计算(LOQC)范例中的技术，结合强大的循环量子存储器(CQM)设备，将几个随机的PDC对组合成一个有用的对，从而克服这种固有的随机性。粗略地说，对发射的光子的子集进行破坏性的LOQC类型的测量被用来概率地“预示”恰好存在一个剩余的光子对。然后，这对被预知的光子被主动切换到两个基于环路的CQM设备，它们安全地存储光子，同时保持它们的纠缠。然后，可以在需要时按需释放纠缠对(即，“按钮”操作)。将采用的实验方法包括使用同步超快脉冲PDC源，基于量子干涉效应和单光子探测的信号预警，以及基于高速电光的开关和存储回路。在许多方面，这种随需应变的纠缠光子对源可以被视为一种小规模的特殊用途LOQC设备，在QIS中有大量的实际应用。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。