NSF Convergence Accelerator-Track C: Quantum-Interconnected Optomechanical Transducers for Entanglement-Enhanced Force and Inertial Sensing

NSF融合加速器支持以使用为灵感，以团队为基础，多学科的努力，以应对国家重要性的挑战，并将在不久的将来为社会提供有价值的成果。 传感器是定位、导航、成像和定时等广泛应用中的关键组件。 量子传感器由于其增强的感测性能而具有技术兴趣。 该项目将创建一个量子传感架构，将各种传感器与光学接口互连，形成一个具有固有量子特性（纠缠）的网络。 这样的量子传感器网络将在一系列应用中受益，包括原子力显微镜，惯性导航，空间通信和医疗成像。该项目将通过展示如何利用纠缠互连并提高真实世界力，惯性，RF和其他类型传感器的灵敏度，准确性和稳定性来推进知识。 受启发的应用将包括用于量子材料研究的AFM，GPS拒绝环境中的定位和导航，以及用于天基激光通信的精确光束指向。通过利用量子光学力学中的工具，如挤压增强干涉测量和辐射压力冷却，该团队将提供第一个纠缠互连的光学机械AFM和惯性传感器阵列，然后扩大阵列，以实现多个数量级的性能改进。该项目将通过在大学，工业和国家实验室环境中的多个教育和职业阶段聘请科学家和工程师来促进美国量子劳动力的培训。参与者将获得量子信息科学（QIS）的理论背景知识和量子光学、集成光子学、光力学和量子系统工程的实验技能，并在一个融合的团队科学环境中进行学习。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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 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. Sensors are a pivotal component in a wide range of applications such as positioning, navigation, imaging, and timing. Quantum sensors are of technological interest due to their enhanced sensing performance. This project will create a quantum-sensing architecture that interconnects a variety of sensors with optical interfaces to form a network that has inherently quantum characteristics (of entanglement). Such a quantum sensor network will have benefits in a range of applications, including atomic force microscopy, inertial navigation, space communications, and healthcare imaging.This project will advance knowledge by showing how to harness entanglement interconnects and enhance the sensitivity, accuracy, and stability of real-world force, inertial, RF, and other types of sensors. Use-inspired applications will include AFM for quantum materials studies, positioning and navigation in GPS-denied environments, and precise beam pointing for space-based laser communications. By harnessing tools in quantum optomechanics such as a squeezing-enhanced interferometry and radiation pressure cooling, the team will deliver the first entanglement-interconnected optomechanical AFMs and inertial sensor arrays and then scale up arrays for multi-order-of-magnitude performance improvements over existing technologies. This project will advance the training of the US quantum workforce by engaging scientists and engineers at multiple education and career stages in university, industry, and national laboratory environments. Participants will gain theoretical background knowledge of quantum information science (QIS) and experimental skills for quantum optics, integrated photonics, optomechanics, and quantum-system engineering in a convergent, team-science setting.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.